CHATTOGRAM, Bangladesh, CMC – Beleaguered West Indies have been urged to pull several facets of their batting together in order to win today’s final One-Day International against Bangladesh and avoid a series whitewash.
Assistant coach Roddy Estwick said while the batting group was an inexperienced one, they still needed to bat in partnerships, rotate the strike and spend time at the crease, if they were to post challenging enough totals to beat the hosts.
West Indies head into the third ODI at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on the back of two dismal performances in Dhaka where totals under 150 saw them lose the opening match by six wickets and the second by seven wickets.
“We’ve got to be honest – we did not bat well [in either game],” the forthright Estwick told reports in an online media conference.
“We did not get partnerships, we did not get into any kind of rhythm and we kept losing wickets in clusters so that’s something we’ve got to work on.
“Whatever you do in a cricket game you’ve got to do it well – if you bat first you’ve got to do it well and if you bowl first you’ve got to bowl well. Like I said, there’s no hiding place – we didn’t bat well enough.
“You get bowled out for 150 in an international game where teams now are making 320, 340, you obviously are going to struggle.”
He added: “We’ve got to try and improve the overall performances. We’ve still got 10 points to play for in this series. Even though we’ve lost the series, there’s still 10 points [in the ICC Super League] up for grabs so we’ve got to come tomorrow (Monday) and try and put in a way better performance that we have done so far.”
West Indies perished for 122 in the opening game last Wednesday after being sent in and crumbled for 148 in the second match last Friday after choosing to bat.
So far, no batsmen has managed a half-century with Kyle Mayers getting 40 in the first match and Rovman Powell starring with 41 in the second outing.
And Estwick conceded the inability of the batting group to post large totals was concerning and posed a problem with putting Bangladesh under pressure with the ball.
“Firstly, we haven’t batted the 50 overs out and once you don’t bat 50 overs in a one-day game you’re always under pressure,” he pointed out.
“Obviously we’re not getting the scores we’re looking at, the pitches for the new players have been a challenge and we haven’t been getting partnerships.
“There’s no hiding place. We have to be honest – we haven’t batted well, we’re not getting enough runs on the board to challenge Bangladesh and that’s something we have to try and improve on in this coming game.”
With several first choice players declining selection for the tour, West Indies fielded six debutants for the opening ODI and another one for the second game, but none managed to cope with the hosts’ potent spin attack.
World class left-arm spinner Shakib-al-Hasan snatched a four-wicket haul in the first ODI and chipped in with two wickets again in the second ODI, when off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz shone with four wickets.
Estwick said the challenge for the batsmen was not so much preparation as it was coping with the novelty of the subcontinent conditions.
“I think the players know what’s coming [from the Bangladesh spinners] and they’re really trying their hardest but for a lot of players it’s the first time [here],” Estwick explained.
“Even though they’ve been playing regional cricket for a number of years, they haven’t encountered conditions like they have in Bangladesh, they haven’t encountered 50-over cricket [at this level].
“We know the players [we’re up against] but we’ve got to be prepared to occupy the crease and try and spend time and rotate the strike and … these are things we haven’t been doing well.
“Once you’re not doing these things, you can’t really put the Bangladeshis under pressure.”
SQUADS:
WEST INDIES – Jason Mohammed (captain), Sunil Ambris (vice-captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua Da Silva, Keon Harding, Jahmar Hamilton, Chemar Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Andre McCarthy, Kjorn Ottley, Rovman Powell, Raymon Reifer.
BANGLADESH – Tamim Iqbal (captain), Shakib Al Hasan, Najmul Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammed Mithun, Litton Das, Mohammed Mahmud, Afif Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Saif Uddin, Mahadi Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam.
