BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Inclement weather could spoil the return of Ramnaresh Sarwan, which is likely to overshadow the usual rhetoric of playing for pride, when West Indies face Pakistan in the fourth One-day International today.
The Windies were reduced to an indoor practice session on the eve of the match, following overnight and early morning, unseasonal torrential downpours, which left several parts of the island underwater.
Kensington Oval was not likely to be affected, since the installation of a hi-tech drainage system under the ground, when it was renovated five years ago for the 2007 World Cup, which was staged in the Caribbean.
But the weather outlook for the Labour Day holiday in the island was rather bleak, with thunderstorms in the forecast for the next three days.
This would be of grave concern to West Indies, but hardly likely to trouble the Pakistanis, with the five-match series decided, following the hosts’ third straight loss last Thursday at the same venue.
But the insertion of Sarwan into an ailing West Indies batting line-up is sure to evoke great interest and emotions, whichever way it works out.
If he succeeds, he will provide fodder for critics of the West Indies Cricket Board’s plan to broaden the pool of international players in limited-overs matches over the next two years, with a view to winning the 2014 World Twenty20 and 2015 World Cup.
If he fails, he will justify to supporters of the regional governing body, why it is important that they expand the player pool.
Sarwan however, is a welcomed sight for Darren Sammy, and the West Indies captain said he hoped that he could add some stability to the wobbly batting.
“We want to perform better than we did in the previous three games, and a win would be our obvious objective,” Sammy told the CMC Sports Wire yesterday.
“We have the return of Ramnaresh Sarwan, and we all know how good a player he can be. We welcome him back, and we know he is going to fit right into the team, and we hope that he can help us to improve our batting performance.
“We welcome back his experience, and we saw that was probably what was missing from the first three games.”
West Indies have set moderate targets of 222, 221, and 172 in the three matches, which Pakistan have comfortably chased, except in the previous match, when Ravi Rampaul and Devendra Bishoo combined to almost steal victory from them.
“Our major problem has been not putting enough runs on the board,” said Sammy. “We can’t fault the bowlers. They have kept us in games all the way down.
“But if we put runs on the board, our bowlers can go out there, and put pressure on them. Obviously, we created opportunities to win, and to win, we first had to create those opportunities, but we now have to grab them with both hands and bring home the victory.”
Sammy observed that the challenge arises for West Indies in the middle overs, when Pakistan’s spin bowlers have taken charge.
He felt this was an area in which Sarwan could help, but there were some valuable lessons which his side had learnt from the first three matches.
“Rotation of the strike is important,” he said. “We need to do more of this, so that no one bowler bowls too often at the same batsman.
“We have recognised that we are not short of talent, but it is about going out there and executing the team’s plans.
“One plus for us in the series has been our fielding. We have been more agile, we have taken some good catches.”
It’s been tough for West Indies. They have lost their last eight ODIs against Pakistan over the last four years, and the shenanigans off the field have helped to engender any confidence, but Sammy remained positive about his side.
“We can still see in the team guys willing to fight, and playing with passion, and this is good,” he said.
Squads:
WEST INDIES (from): Darren Sammy (captain), Dwayne Bravo (vice captain), Carlton Baugh, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Kirk Edwards, Anthony Martin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons
PAKISTAN (from): Shahid Afridi (captain), Misbah-ul-Haq (vice captain), Abdur Rehman, Ahmed Shahzad, Asad Shafiq, Hammad Azman, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Salman, Sadaf Hussain, Saeed Ajmal, Tanveer Ahmed, Taufeeq Umar, Umar Akmal, Usman Salahuddin, Wahab Riaz
UMPIRES:
Asoka De Silva,
Peter Nero
MATCH REFEREE:
Jeff Crowe
TV UMPIRE: Joel Wilson
