WEST INDIES’ captain Darren Sammy has welcomed back middle order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan and says his contribution in the middle overs will be the key as the regional cricket team seek to pull back a match against Digicel One Day International series winners, Pakistan.
Sammy was speaking on the eve of the fourth ODI at Kensington Oval after the West Indies, down 3-0 in the five-match series had an intense three-hour training session at the indoor facility at the Garfield Sobers Coaching Centre at the Three Ws Oval, Cave Hill Campus while it rained outdoors.
“We know he (Sarwan) is a good player. With him back it is a plus for the team and we wish him all the best. He will be a key player in those middle overs as we look to keep the strike ticking,” Sammy said.
Sammy conceded the Windies have lost the series but said the team would be looking for a confidence booster by pulling back a game.
“We have to play hard and play it smart. We want to perform better than we did in the previous three games, and a win would be our obvious objective. Rotating the strike is one area we have to get better at. If we rotate the strike that upset the rhythm of the Pakistan bowlers and that would lead to us posting bigger, match-winning totals,” Sammy said.
“The ‘dot ball’ percentage has been high and we need to combat the opposition bowlers. One of our major problems has been that we have not been putting enough runs on the board. That is there for everyone to see, so we have to find methods of remedying the situation. As a batting unit we hit a lot of boundaries, but we have to get better at ticking over the strike, especially against the Pakistan spinners,” he added.
But Sammy lauded the bowlers, led by leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo and pacer Ravi Rampaul, who shared all seven Pakistan wickets in last Thursday match at Kensington.
“I can’t fault the bowlers. They have been superb for us and brought us close to a victory in the last match. I believe if we put the runs on the board, the bowlers will do the job for us. We are looking to create winning opportunities and when we do that we have to grab it with both hands.”
