KEMAR ROACH DETERMINED TO PERFORM AGAINST PAKISTAN AT BARBADOS

West Indies pacer, Kemar Roach, hopes that Barbados’ seamer-friendly pitch will help him in giving a better performance in the must-win One-Day International (ODI) match against Pakistan, scheduled to be played on April 28.

West Indies is lagging behind the five-match ODI series by 0-2 against Pakistan. In the first two matches, Roach failed to grab even a single wicket in a total of 18.3 overs. However, he is determined to prove himself in home conditions.

"The pitch (at Beausejour) in St Lucia was a bit on the slow side and it was a bit flat. Kensington is usually somewhat faster and offers more to my type of bowling so I will be looking for better returns”, Roach commented.

In first ODI against Pakistan, Windies showed a poor bowling performance since none of their bowlers except Devendra Bishoo could break Pakistan’s strong partnerships.

The situation was similar in the second ODI in which the Windies, batting first, set a target of 221 runs for Pakistan. Their bowling attack failed to rip through the opponent’s strong batting line up again and consequently they were defeated in the second ODI by 7 wickets. Bishoo was once again the only bowler to claim two important Pakistani wickets, Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad.

Roach said that it is necessary to win this match to keep the series alive and to ensure a win, the Windies must put in all their efforts.

“It's always good to play at home in very familiar conditions. I'm looking to hit my 'areas' and look to make inroads into the batting”, said the West Indies’ pacer.

Roach asserted that he always hunts for wickets with a new ball and has been successful in putting pressure on batsmen. The 22 year-old gave a marvelous bowling performance in the recent World Cup campaign.

He secured a hat-trick against the Netherlands during the group stages and out of the six games West Indies played in the World Cup, he claimed 13 wickets.

Roach has claimed 39 wickets at an average of 22.53 in 22 ODIs. His best bowling innings was a staggering 6/48. In the third edition of the Indian Premier League, Roach was the most expensive player as the Deccan Chargers bought him for $720000.

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PAKISTAN LOOK TO BEAT WEST INDIES WITH A COMPREHENSIVE MARGIN

Pakistan defeated West Indies by an impressive margin of seven wickets in the second One Day International match between the two countries, played in St Lucia, on April 25, 2011.

As a result, the visitors now have a formidable 2-0 lead in the five-match series and look set to build on the advantage, considering the lack of quality in the West Indian ranks.

Both teams have opted to test their young guns in this series, which is a positive sign for both countries as some new players have performed well in the first two matches.

Men in Green bowled well once again in the second match and did not give anything away to the Caribbean batsmen. Afridi is continuing on his strategy to rely heavily on spinners, a plan which has worked very well for the team until now.

Spin trio of Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez tied down the home team’s batsmen once again and shared six wickets between them in the second ODI. Such is the strength of Pakistan’s spin bowling, that left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman is not able to break into the playing eleven.

Junaid Khan has failed to pick up a wicket in the series so far, but he bowled an impressive spell with the new ball and was hitting his mark from the very first ball. He is very much similar to Mohammad Amir in his approach and looks to be an exciting prospect for Pakistan cricket.

Another positive for Pakistan was Ahmed Shehzad’s return to form, as he scored a slow century but made sure his side does not face any kind of a collapse in the run-chase. He is an exciting young prospect for the team and analysts expect him to take on the batting line-up’s burden, along with Umar Akmal and Asad Shafiq.  

West Indies, on the other hand, would be happy with the performance of some of their younger players like Devendra Bishoo and Lendl Simmons. Despite the inclusion of young blood, the Board might have to reconsider their policy of dropping all senior batsmen at once.

Dropping the likes of Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, might not be the right tactic to adopt, as the West Indies Cricket Board should make best use of their experience and class.

Caribbean cricket fans would be hoping that their premier pacemen Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards get fit soon, as their team is desperately looking for bowlers who can take wickets at regular intervals. Apart from Bishoo, no West Indian bowler has been able to make an impression in the series so far.

It would take a huge effort from this West Indian team to dismantle Pakistan in the ODI series, as the visitors look all set to win this series with a comprehensive margin.

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PAKISTAN BEAT WEST INDIES IN THE FIRST MATCH OF THE DIGICEL ODI SERIES

Pakistan have managed to pull off a victory in the first clash of the five-match One Day International (ODI) series against West Indies by eight wickets at the Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia on 23 April, 2011.

This victory comes after Pakistan were handed an embarrassing defeat by the hosts in the only Twenty20 match of the series, played at the same venue.

However, today the outcome was different as Afridi XI managed to grab their first win after the team’s elimination from the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2011, where the Men in Green were handed a defeat in the semi-final by arch rivals India.

With 221 runs as the target, Pakistan managed to successfully chase the tally with the loss of just two wickets.

Afridi who did not have to come out to bat looked jubilant at the sight of his batsmen Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq steering the side to victory.

After the match Afridi praised the commendable performance of his batsmen with some encouraging words for the middle-order batsman Misbah, saying that the batsman was doing a great job for the team. Misbah remained unbeaten, scoring 73 runs.

Afridi reiterated that he had confidence in his batsmen and felt that the target was not difficult enough for his side to reach.

Talking on losing the toss he said, “When Sammy said he wanted to bat, I was very happy. The boys did a great job. I did expect the pitch to turn; there was moisture on it and I know my boys are capable of doing it.”  

Afridi felt that his bowlers had done a commendable job in restricting the hosts to a mediocre total.

Praising the efforts of Pakistan’s main strike bowler in this series Wahab Riaz, he said, that the bowler was extremely talented and had done well against India in the World Cup. The skipper advised the bowler to be more focussed on his bowling.

Riaz took two wickets in his ten overs by conceding 62 runs. He was extremely expensive early on, being smacked by the Windies.

Meanwhile, the West Indies skipper Darren Sammy admitted that his side was completely rattled by the bounce and spin in the wicket, due to which the batsmen failed to put a big total on the board.

Speaking after the match he said, “We dug ourselves into a hole when the spinners were bowling. we have to come better in the next game. i was surprised to see the spin and bounce in this wicket; we have to work in nets and come back on Monday.”

From the West Indies, it was the inspirational 25-year old Devendra Bishoo who took the only two wickets. He first removed Ahmed Shahzad and then Mohammad Hafeez.

The two teams will now meet each other in the second match of the series on April 25, 2011.

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