BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Former West Indies all-rounder, Ian Bradshaw, has warned the Caribbean side their batting has to be more clinical if they are to successfully defend their Twenty20 World Cup title in India later this year.
The 46-year-old said while West Indies defeated Sri Lanka 2-1 in the just concluded series in Antigua, the home side lacked conviction in their batting and were also guilty of irresponsible stroke-play which needlessly put the innings under pressure.
Bradshaw also urged West Indies management to be “brutally honest” with the squad in order to lift the level of performances.
“I’m disappointed by the manner of our victories,” said Bradshaw, who featured in five Tests and 62 One-Day Internationals.
“Yes we won but the result could’ve easily been 3-0 to Sri Lanka and as we build towards the World Cup, our performances will have to be far more clinical.
“Like so many series with West Indies cricket, we go into it and believe that our bowling is the weak link of the two and when it comes out, it’s our batting that struggles and this has been the case in all three formats.”
He continued: “If you look at Test cricket, whenever we’ve scored 500 runs over two innings, we’ve won and history will show that. When we get over 300 runs in a One-Day International, we’re very competitive.
“But quite often, it’s our batting that has let us down and the batting in the T20 series showed a bit of irresponsibility. The shots that were played put us [under] undue pressure when we didn’t need to be and if we’re going to roll forward in a World Cup year, we have to have some honest words within the camp.
“I’m sure that coach (Phil) Simmons and maybe chief selector (Roger) Harper will have to be brutally honest with the guys. Experienced or inexperienced, when you reach this level, your match awareness has to be a lot better.”
West Indies produced a haphazard run chase to overhaul 132 and win the first game by four wickets before crumbling for 117 in pursuit of 161 to lose the second by 43 runs.
The third was another nervy contest, with West Indies eclipsing a modest target of 132 to win by three wickets with an over to spare.
In all three matches, West Indies batsmen appeared lost against Sri Lanka’s spinners and none managed a half-century in the series or finished with an aggregate in excess of 100 runs.
Lendl Simmons topped the scoring with 73 runs while his opening partner Evin Lewis finished with 55 runs and left-hander Nicholas Pooran, 31 runs.
Veteran Chris Gayle, recalled after a two-year break, scraped 29 runs from three innings.
“We have to put this into perspective. In T20 cricket, you may say a fella scores 60 runs in a series but depending on a position in which he is playing, the importance of those 60 runs could be [critical],” Bradshaw told Starcom Radio’s Mason and Guest cricket show.
“What I’m concerned about is the manner of our dismissals. We showed a definite weakness and uncertainty to the spinners. At times in West Indies cricket, we have struggled with spinners at different points in time but it is how collectively as a unit we bat the spin.”
Warning there was no hiding place in the international arena, Bradshaw said it was important West Indies batsmen also ironed out their weaknesses against the quicker bowlers.
“A little bit more worrying to me is a trend against the aggressive pacer [where] we’re showing a bit of tentativeness,” said Bradshaw, the hero of the Windies’ dramatic 2004 Champions Trophy conquest in England.
“I think a lot of international teams would have picked that up and you see quite often when teams need a wicket, they are turning back to their pacer, maybe for just one over to collect a wicket, and we have to be smart enough in those situations to counteract that plan. “You can’t hide in international cricket, there’s nowhere to hide. There’s too much video, too much analysis. We’ve got to man up, we’ve got to take some responsibility if we’re going to put some runs on the board and defend our world championship with pride.”