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.

Read More

PAKISTAN V WEST INDIES - SECOND INNINGS REPORT

Pakistan has defeated West Indies in the first One Day International (ODI) of five ODIs series by a huge margin of eight wickets with 51 balls to spare. The match was played at Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia on 23 April 2011.

Pakistan after winning the first ODI against the Caribbean, lead the series by 1-0.

West Indies after winning the toss opted to bat first and posted a mere target of 222 runs for Pakistan to chase.

Pakistan, in pursuit of the target, started their innings with their openers Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad.

Both the openers played exceptionally well and responsibly. They played shots all around the wicket and pushed the ball into the gaps, punishing the loose ones to the boundary.

They provided Pakistan with a blistering start of 68 runs for the first wicket partnership.

The blazing partnership came to an end when Shehzad was stumped by CS Baugh off the bowling of D Bishoo. He made only 22 runs off 39 balls hitting four boundaries.

On the other hand the second opener Hafeez completed his half century and scored 54 runs off 45 balls hitting seven boundaries and a six.

Hafeez was caught at short mid-wicket by the opposition Skipper Darren Sammy off the bowling of D Bishoo.

After the openers fell, Asad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq played a remarkable innings and built a solid partnership.

Asad Shafiq proved that he is fully capable of playing Test as well as one day cricket, he only supported his senior partner Misbah but also played strokes by himself and reached the half century milestone.

Similarly Misbah also responsibly, completed his half century and took Pakistan to their first triumph in the five match series by eight wickets.

Misbah and Asad Shafiq both reached their fifties and remained unbeaten during the successful chase.

Mohammad Hafeez was declared Man of the Mach for his fifty with the bat and one wicket with the ball.

Read More

Pakistan Aim to be Cautious in the ODI Series after Twenty20 Loss

After losing their first ever Twenty20 match against the West Indies on 21 April, 2011, played at the Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia by seven runs, Pakistan aim to be more cautious in the upcoming five-match one-day series against the hosts.

Speaking after the match, Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi said, “They have indicated it is not going to be easy for us. We will have to be cautious in the ODI series.”

The all-rounder reiterated that his side will need to show more professional approach in the tournament and needs to work really hard to avoid the embarrassment of losing the series to the Windies.

Afridi, who was among the leading wicket takers in the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2011, blamed poor batting for their loss in the shortest version of the game. He reckoned that the total was not big enough and his side should have easily chased the tally on the wicket which was supporting the batsmen.

“It was an easy target and there was nothing wrong with the conditions but our batsmen failed to avail the chance. We failed to build partnerships and that cost us the game,” he said.

Nonetheless, Afridi gave full credit to the outstanding fielding of the hosts which made things extremely difficult for the Men in Green. 

The Pakistan skipper admitted that because of this loss the tourists are going to be under some pressure before the first match of the five-match ODI series.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Pakistan played their first competitive one-day international after their last game which was the semi-final of the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2011 against India in Mohali.

Skipper Shahid Afridi was retained by the Pakistan Cricket Board Selection committee while senior players such as Younus Khan, Umar Gul and Abdul Razzaq were rested for the series in the Bahamas.

Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was dropped from the squad after his regrettable performance in the mega event and it seems less likely that he will get a recall unless he performs exceptionally well in the domestic circuit.

Akmal dropped numerous crucial catches in the tournament which forced many in Pakistan to call for his immediate axing. Nonetheless, he was retained in the squad as the team management did not want to play the remainder of the event with a stand-in wicketkeeper.

Akmal has been replaced by 29-year old Mohammad Salman who showed athleticism behind the stumps in Thursday’s clash. However, he failed to impress, scoring just five runs in the match.

Pakistan Head Coach Waqar Younis has however, expressed his confidence in the team and stressed that his boys will do better in the one-day event.

The tourists are scheduled to take on the hosts today at Gros Islet in the opening match of the one-day series.

Read More