West Indies hoping for batting resurgence
Published:Thursday | July 1, 2021 | 12:13 AMLennox Aldred/Gleaner Writer
The West Indies will be looking to shrug off the disappointment of some mediocre batting performances with the aim of staying alive in their five- match T20 series when they clash with South Africa today in the penultimate encounter in Grenada, starting at 1:00 p.m. Jamaica time.
Down two games to one, the hosts will try to secure a valuable win, halt the Proteas’ progress, and in the process, stop the visitors from claiming their first T20 series win in seven attempts.
Once again, the home side’s middle-order batting will come under the microscope as the regional side failed to chase down 166 and 167 after getting more than decent starts from their openers.
Head Coach Phil Simmons did not shy away from the disappointment of his seasoned campaigners, who make up the nucleus of the team’s batting, not getting the job done.
Simmons and captain Kieron Pollard have been preaching that the batters need to apply better game awareness and approach if the team is to get back to winning ways.
“The area of concern right now is a case of the thought when batting and the assessment of situations. We know that once we assess the situations correctly, we are going to win more matches than we lose,” said Simmons.
With Evin Lewis and Lendl Simmons expected to continue at the top of the order, Simmons will have to decide if he goes back for veteran Chris Gayle or keep Shimron Hetmyer and shift him up to bat at number three.
One player, who is expected to have an impact on the outcome is left-arm seamer Obed McCoy, who continues to show that he belongs at the international level.
McCoy has so far led the wicket-takers in the series with seven wickets, and Simmons had nothing but high praises for the Vincentian.
“Obed has come on leaps and bounds. He is one of them that is grabbing at the information all the time and trying to work out things, and we can see the improvement as it goes along,” said Simmons.
Meanwhile, South Africa may opt to stick with their winning team. If they decide to make a change, fast bowler Lungi Ngidi has been their most expensive bowler in the series and might make way for Andile Phehlukwayo or Wiaan Mulder.