SYDNEY, Australia – TRAILING in the One Day International series 0-3, West Indies are hopeful for a consolation victory in tomorrow’s (Feb. 19) final encounter against Australia and to gain some much needed momentum before the two match T20 series.
West Indies lost by 113 runs, eight wickets and 50 runs respectively in the first, second and fourth ODIs, while the third match had to be cancelled due to rain. Having come into the tour missing a majority of their internationally experienced players, the results were not entirely unexpected for the visiting squad.
West Indies has shown moments of brilliance in their bowling during the tour, but has lacked consistency throughout in the batting department. As one of the leading batsmen for the tour, all-rounder Kieron Pollard said that he hopes to change this in the final ODI.
“Basically I’ve been happy with my performances so far, but when you perform you really want the team to win. Unfortunately we have not won any matches so far so this last one will be vitally important for us. If we could win this last game the series would be 3-1 and it would be great momentum going into the T20 Series,” he said.
Pollard added that he felt a debt was owed to the fans of West Indies cricket that have supported him and the other players in both the highs and lows.
“West Indies fans are very passionate about the game and they love the players. We want to repay them for the faith they have put in us. The fans always come out and supported the team and I want to do well for myself, the team, my family and the fans – to make everyone happy.”
Middle-order batsman Narsingh Deonarine shared Pollard’s sentiments in the days leading up to the final ODI.
“There is always something to play for in a cricket match. Every match means something. We don’t want to go home without a win so everyone wants to work hard and try to win the last match.”
Though relatively inexperienced at the international level, Deonarine has steadily improved his batting across the ODI series, with his best performance being 53 from 69 balls, and said that he believes his increased comfort in the crease bodes well for tomorrow’s clash.
“It was my first half-century in a One-Day match for West Indies so I was happy with that breakthrough, but I wanted to go on to a bigger score.
“I will be trying to put it right on Friday night. I have been trying to relax myself as much as possible, stick to the basics and get things right. At this level, the mental side is very important and I am learning as I go along. I have been working hard in the nets and the coaches have been helping all the other players a lot,” Deonarine said.
If West Indies were to knock off Australia tomorrow at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, they would break the host’s unbeaten summer and would set the stage for some very exciting Twenty20 matches on February 21 and 23.
