BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Dogged by inconsistency with the bat throughout his career, Denesh Ramdin is hoping to put his dodgy form behind him and make a fresh start for next month’s ICC Champions Trophy in England and Wales.
The first choice West Indies gloveman averages a wretched 20.52 in one-dayers after 97 matches and eight years of international experience.
Coming out of the just concluded regional first class season, however, Ramdin said he has done some remedial work with West Indies assistant coach Toby Radford and was now looking forward to turning around his fortunes on the field.
“There were some mistakes I was making with my technique but I’ve rectified that. I’ve looked over some footage and then the last few days I’ve been working with Toby so hopefully come England I will do well there,” Ramdin told CMC Sports.
“I know the ball does a bit there so you have to get it right. There will be a lot more pressure on you. You have to try and score quickly. It’s key to get a start and the guys who are in, I have to get them on strike and if not, I am the guy to bat through the innings down the order.”
Despite his experience, Ramdin will be looking to prove himself on the upcoming tour after being dropped last year and only getting a recall for Zimbabwe’s tour of the Caribbean last February.
He boasts just one half-century in his last 20 one-dayers dating back to 2010, performances that have not truly summed up the talent of the 28-year-old Trinidadian.
Undaunted by his patchy form, Ramdin said the Champions Trophy represented a chance to get among the runs, and said he had set some targets for the June 6-23 competition.
“We have [three preliminary round] games and if given the opportunity I would like to have two [unbeaten] half-centuries which is important because that means batting down the overs and coming not out with a batsman in the lower order,” Ramdin pointed out.
“Hopefully I can put up a good score batting though the innings and see the team into a position where we can defend a good total and win the game.”
Ramdin was part of the Windies unit which suffered a heavy drubbing on the Test and limited overs tour of England last year, but the right-hander stood out in the third and final Test at Birmingham with an unbeaten century.
He acknowledged the difficulty of batting in English conditions but said the fact the Windies would be arriving early would be huge boost to their preparations.
“It is not going to be easy. It will be challenging like any other team going to England,” he noted.
“Going there 10, 12 days before a tournament will be good as we can try and get acclimatised to the conditions so we can have a better idea of how to go about playing the opposition.”
