(WICB) Perth, Australia – Ramnaresh Sarwan believes his half-century against the Prime Minister’s XI on Tuesday was the right tonic he required to boost his confidence heading into the five-match One-Day International Series against Australia.
The experienced right-hander batted well at Number 3 to make 63 off 83 balls, as the Windies played in a high-scoring thriller on a good batting pitch at the Manuka Oval.
“I was a bit scratchy when I started my innings, but that was mainly due to the fact that I had it kind of rough when I played the Caribbean T20 tournament. I felt I needed to hang around a bit and be a bit patient…it paid off for me in the end,” Sarwan told WICB Media.
“It was my form that was the worry, it had nothing to do with the pitch. The pitch played really well, which was demonstrated by the fact that both teams scored over 300 runs. The fact that I was able to spend time at the crease helped a lot.
“It was important for me that I got a game before we start the One-Day Series for several reasons. I have been out for a while, I have not played any international cricket for a while so it was good for me to get this game under my belt and I’m looking to take it forward from here,” he added.
Sarwan came to the crease after Johnson Charles and Kieran Powell added a run-a-ball 83 for the first wicket. He then helped Powell put on another 89 for the second wicket before Powell was forced to retire hurt. The 32-year-old continued on and eventually fell caught in the deep trying to raise the tempo as the required rate reached over 10 runs per over. Andre Russell then came to the crease and smashed 53 off 24 balls with five massive sixes.
“Both Powell and Russell played extremely well. We needed someone in the top three or four to bat deep in the innings and I thought he [Powell] did a great job of providing us with that kind of start. Unfortunately, he got cramp and could not go on to get a hundred,” Sarwan said.
“We added a really good partnership and what we tried to do was to rotate the strike as much as possible and not get bogged down.
“Andre really brought us back into the game. When he came we needed between 10 and 11 runs per over and he gave us an opportunity to win the game. The way he strikes the ball and his ability, we know what he is capable of doing. He’s a very confident young man and he has a very level head,” said the former West Indies captain.
Sarwan brings a wealth of experience to the team having played at the international level for over a decade. He has made 173 ODI appearances and scored 5,644 runs at an impressive average of 43.41 runs per innings.
“We got what we really wanted from the game. It was good to get a feel of the conditions over here and get used to what we will have to encounter in the coming days. Generally it was a good outing. As a batting unit we did really well.”
The West Indies travelled to Perth on Wednesday where they will play their first and second One-Day Internationals on Friday and Sunday at the WACA Ground. They will have a full training session on Thursday. First ball on Friday is 11:20 am (11:20 pm Thursday Eastern Caribbean Time/10:20 pm Jamaica Time).
