MULTAN, Pakistan, CMC – West Indies arrived here yesterday for their three-match One-Day International series against Pakistan, with captain Nicholas Pooran upbeat about the form of the batting group.
The Caribbean side swept minnows Netherlands 3-0 last week in Amsterdam with the likes of Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks and Kyle Mayers all hitting centuries.
“It’s always important – not only one batsman but multiple batsmen scoring centuries,” Pooran said.
“It is very important for a team in terms of getting to a big score, a score to actually defend.
“It’s wonderful. It shows that the batsmen are hungry for runs and they’re willing to spend time at the wicket and get those big runs.”
Hope struck 119 in the opening ODI to notch his 11th ODI hundred while Brooks hit 60 and Brandon King, an unbeaten 58 as West Indies came away with a comfortable seven-wicket win.
In the second match, King hit an unbeaten 91 and debutant Keacy Carty an unbeaten 43 to propel the visitors to a five-wicket win after the innings faced strife at 99 for five.
West Indies produced their most dominant display in the final game with Mayers plundering a career-best 120 and Brooks also carving out an unbeaten 101, in a 20-run victory.
“In the first game, how Hopey batted there. Even when I got out, Brandon came in there and did what was required for the team, building a big partnership there with Hopey,” explained Pooran.
“And in the second game, when all of our top order batsmen [fell cheaply] Kyle and King put on a partnership and then Keacy came in with King and they took it straight to the end and won the game for us.”
West Indies will field the same squad against Pakistan, who are expected to present a more formidable challenge in the June 8-12 series.
Carty, a member of West Indies’ successful side at the 2016 ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, was one of three debutants on tour with fast bowlers Shermon Lewis and Jayden Seales both of whom have played in the Test format also turning out in the white ball version.
Pooran said young players taking opportunities on offer was key to West Indies continued success.
“I think it is really important that players get the opportunity and the exposure,” Pooran pointed out.
“I think that with Keacy, the maturity he showed in that game when he got the opportunity to bat, was something nice to see. It was a breath of fresh air, the way he came in and played the situation batting at number seven.
“I’m really happy he got the opportunity and he took it with both hands.”
West Indies face Pakistan in the opening ODI on Wednesday at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
