BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – High Performance Centre head coach Graeme West says the outgoing batch of players have made strides in some areas but believes there is more work to be done in the batting department.
The 16 players are currently involved in a series of limited overs matches at the 3Ws Oval, as they prepare to return to their home territories next week.
“The players have shown a lot of progression in fielding and bowling. The work done with Ottis Gibson when he was here has given the bowlers a better understanding of what they have do to reach the next level,” West said.
“The work done by Andre Coley in the fielding has led to a significant improvement. The percentage of chances we have taken has been very high.”
He continued: “The bowlers and the fielders performed admirably in Bangladesh, but it was our inability to consistently score big that has been a bit of a challenge. It is something that the batsmen have been working on and we have seen signs of improvement along the way.
“There have been a lot of good performances with the bat, but not enough good performances in one innings to give us match-winning scores and put the opposition under pressure.
“Andre Fletcher, Johnson Charles and Kyle Hope have all made big scores and several others have showed their potential and their skill without going on to get the big scores that we are looking for, the kind of performances that would get them a bit more recognition and a bit more notice.”
The HPC squad toured Bangladesh in September and October with mixed results. They lost the two-match four-day “Test” series 1-0 before rebounding to win the three-match one-day series, 2-1. They also lost the two-match Twenty20 series, 1-0.
Hope shone with a double century in the opening four-day match while Fletcher also got a century as the Caribbean side amassed over 500 runs.
However, the batting also saw some lows as HPC found themselves bundled out for 54 in the final one-dayer.
“The batsmen have shown that they can do it and we know that they can do it,” West asserted.
“What they need to do now is go into domestic cricket and bat sessions, bat for long periods and make big scores and start to demonstrate the potential that I see in them every day, but which we have not seen enough of in competition.”
