BROOKLYN, NY – Not for the first time, West Indies’ batting has come under the microscope after posting a paltry 122 in their six-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in the opening One-Day International here Wednesday.
Sent in, West Indies started badly to collapse to 56 for five and only got beyond the 100-run mark courtesy of a 59-run, sixth-wicket stand between top-scorer Kyle Mayers (40) and Rovman Powell (28).
No other batsman passed 20 as seasoned left-arm spinner Shakib-al-Hasan ripped through the innings to finish with Man-of-the-Match figures of four for eight.
Afterward, interim skipper Jason Mohammed urged his batsmen to exercise more patience, especially in the middle overs against the spinners.
“It was a little bit difficult. The seamers started pretty well, but the spinners really put the stranglehold on us,” Mohammed said.
“Obviously, with Shakib, it was a little bit difficult for us to score, and he got some crucial wickets.
“They bowled well and got the ball to move a little bit. We always knew they were coming with a balanced attack – three seamers and two spinners.
“We have to give ourselves more time. Obviously, it’s difficult to score in the middle with the spinners. I think negotiating that part of the innings is going to be more crucial for us, and obviously, we need to play that period of bowling a little bit better.”
Mayers, one of six debutants in the contest at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, agreed more was needed from the batsmen.
“The batsmen need to buckle down a bit longer and read the situation a bit longer and hopefully put a better score on the board so the bowlers can fight,” the left-hander pointed out.
The total was the second-lowest for the Caribbean side against Bangladesh, only bettering the 61 they managed in Chattogram 10 years ago.
And left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, who excelled with three for 26 from a 10-over spell, said the attack needed larger targets to bowl at.
“I think we definitely need to put on a bigger score,” said the debutant.
“Having said that, I do think we bowled well, so it’s just to give the bowlers something to work with. Hopefully, that happens in the next match.”
Hosein bowled superbly, conceding only two boundaries while sending down 44 dot balls.
The highlight of his spell came in the 14th over when he bowled opener Liton Das for 14 with one pitched on middle and spun to hit the top of off-stump, as the batsmen defended cluelessly.
“With the score that we had to work with, I think the bowlers put their hands up and showed a good performance,” Mohammed said.
“Obviously, Akeal was the standout on his debut with three crucial wickets and being very economical as well, so I was thrilled with the bowlers today.”
Despite the inexperience of the batting line up, Mohammed said they were capable of much better performances.
“We are inexperienced in terms of batting, but I think they are capable batsmen. It was just our first outing [and] the wicket was a little bit difficult. They are capable of doing the job, so hopefully, next game, we can put up a better batting performance.”
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