Powell apologises to countrymen before penultimate Cup outing

Brigetown, Barbados, Apr 19 (UNI) West Indies best bowler of the tournament, pacer Daren Powell has apologised to his countrymen for the poor performance of the team in the World Cup.

''I felt really, really bad. I am very disappointed as we could not pull off the big victory for the people of the Caribbean,'' Powell told mediapersons at Kensington Oval today before the start of their Super Eight match against Bangladesh.

''When I walk through the streets and hear people talking about us, it really pains my heart even more, we know we have to get back to winning terms again for our people,'' he added.

Powell's comment came moments after West Indies captain Brian Lara urged his players to stand up and be counted against the Tigers in their penultimate Super Eight match of the tourney at Kensington Oval here today.

Powell, who has been the best bowler for the Caribbeans in the mega event with 11 wickets from seven matches, said, ''We know we have let down our people and we want them not to write us off. My whole aim is to bring some pride back into West Indies cricket. I don't just want to walk onto the field to say I have represented the West Indies team but I want to do my nation proud and bring back joy and hapiness again in the faces of Caribbean people.'' UNI MT SSC HS1840