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WEST Indies T20 captain Rovman Powell said his players are strong individually, but wants a quality effort collectively when they play England in a five-match T20 series bowling off at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados at 6 pm on Tuesday.
West Indies will be beaming with confidence after winning the three-match One Day International series 2-1, which ended on Saturday.
Individually, West Indies have the pedigree with the likes of Powell, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Jason Holder and Andre Russell, who has returned to the team after a two-year hiatus.
Powell did not feature in the ODI series, but has returned to lead the regional side.
Speaking to Cricket West Indies media on Monday, Powell asked for a team effort. "I am actually very excited. When you look on a West Indies team that includes so many returning guys, it is a powerful team. But having said that, we still have to play some good cricket. We still have to put it together as a complete team and not just from an individual perspective."
Powell is elated to have Russell – a destructive batsman and wicket-taking bowler – back in the team. "It is always good to have an Andre Russell in a West Indies team. We know the quality that he comes with and he is fit and raring and ready to go, to put on the maroon again for the people of the Caribbean."
Powell said the series against England is another chance to fine-tune areas before the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will be held next year June in the Caribbean.
English all-rounder Chris Woakes expects a competitive series. Speaking to the English and Wales Cricket Board media after training, Woakes said, "It is good to be out here getting a couple balls out on the grass and ready to go in what I am sure is going to be a pretty tough series against a good side, so I am looking forward to it."
Asked about the team's preparations for the 2024 T20 World Cup, Woakes said, "Naturally, you always to win the series and obviously there is an emphasis on the series result, but at the same time you want to look ahead and prepare for what's ahead, so it is kind of learning conditions, roles of players and performances sometimes, rather than the end result. But naturally you want to win the series as well. The perfect idea is you do all that and you get the win as well."
Woakes said West Indies are a dangerous team on paper especially with their destructive batsmen.
"They are capable of being very good on their day, (but) we've got to try to combat that somehow. We have just come off the back of a loss in the ODI series so they have a bit of confidence from that, but obviously a different format, a few different names from both sides so it will be a hard-fought series I am sure."
Woakes, leg spinner Adil Rashid and all-rounder Moeen Ali are among the highly-rated players who have joined the England team for the T20 series.

West Indies squad: Rovman Powell (captain), Shai Hope (vice-captain), Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd.

England squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Reece Topley, John Turner, Chris Woakes.
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