‘Dangerous’ Kingsmen take momentum into CPL clash vs St Lucia Kings
AFTER a slow start to 2026 Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Jamaica Kingsmen have found their rhythm, and captain Rovman Powell says the timing couldn’t be better.
Coming off back-to-back home wins — a six-wicket win against Trinbago Knight Riders on Saturday, and a 51-run victory over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots on Tuesday — the Kingsmen head to Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia to face St Lucia Kings at 7:00 pm Jamaica time.
Both teams sit on four points from five games, with the Kingsmen in third and the Kings in fourth on better run rate.
“It’s important to get that win [against the Patriots] for the fans. They have turned out in their numbers in the last four games for us. We were searching for momentum at the start, but we get it now and it’s not too late,” Powell said.
For Powell, playing well at home was always the key to a deep CPL run. Now he wants to translate that form on the road.
“It’s always important if you’re going to go deep in CPL to play good at home. So it’s good for us to get used to last wins at home. And when we go to St Lucia, we go to St Lucia in different conditions.
“But a team that is coming off back-to-back wins is a dangerous team. Hopefully we can go to St Lucia and get into the game early and get another two points away from us,” explained Powell.
The Kingsmen’s turnaround has been built on senior players standing up. Powell pointed to the fight against Trinidad as the turning point.
“We always felt as if we have players, it’s just that they started out very slow in the competition. But it’s good to see that halfway in the competition, we are right here with the other teams. The game against Trinidad, they are such a strong team that when you beat them, you get confidence from that. And we just take that confidence into the Patriots’ game,” Powell stated.
Powell also led from the front in the last home game when the Kingsmen were in trouble early.
Sent in to bat, the Kingsmen were 0 for 2 inside the first over and later 54 for 4 in 7.2 overs after Saurabh Netravalkar and Wanindu Hasaranga ripped through the top order.
That’s when Powell and Keemo Paul took over.
Their 99-run stand for the fifth wicket dragged Jamaica to 153 for 5 in 17.3 overs, and set the platform for a big finish. Powell made 49 (39 balls) and Paul topscored on 65 (36 balls). The Kingsmen ended on 181 for 6 then bowled out the Patriots for 130 in 18.4 overs.
“You know, we were two wickets down for no runs, fans were a little bit silent, they needed someone to stand up, and as the leader of the ship, it’s important that I did. You know, credit have to be given to Keemo Paul also. He took a lot of pressure off me and his innings was fantastic, maybe the match winning innings,” Powell said.
The captain believes the group is now playing with real belief.
“I think it’s a case of the guys believing. When you’re playing against good players, they’re not just going to turn up and be rolled over. They are going to turn up and give you a fight. In our first two games, it’s not as if we didn’t fight, but we didn’t fight for long periods,” Powell noted.
Most importantly, Powell wants the Kingsmen to prove they can win in different ways.
“That is actually very, very, very important. You know, you don’t want it to be a pattern where if you win the toss and you chase, that’s the only time you can get away. You know, we were put on the pressure today, tremendous pressure, and it’s good to see that we’re winning from different positions,” he said.
