Ahmedabad, Feb 11 (IANS) The West Indies head coach Phil Simmons on Friday admitted that their batting is in need of urgent attention as it cost them the last two matches in the ODI series against India.
In the ODI series that concluded on Friday, West Indies were blanked 3-0 after suffering a shock 2-1 loss to Ireland at home in January, their batting failed to step up to the needs of the circumstances and fell woefully inadequate thrice.
“It does need urgent attention because it has just lost the last two games. When you bowl out India for 230 (237) and 260 (265), you expect to chase it. Just a year ago we were cruising to 280-290 against Sri Lanka, which have similar spinners. The batting is a huge concern and people got to stand up now as we go into the next set of ODIs in June. People got to stand up and make sure that they bat for West Indies and what we have to do as a unit. It is a huge concern,” said Simmons in the post-match virtual press conference.
Simmons was further pained by the mode of dismissals by the batters throughout the series. “I think the mode of dismissal is the biggest issue. If we assess and play according to the situation, then you get out and that’s the execution (part). The modes of dismissals, it’s hurtful and doesn’t make for a good watch. It’s something that players have to sit and get it right as soon as possible. We can’t go like this.”
Asked about how West Indies will have to improve their batting in ODIs, Simmons pointed towards batting according to the situations in the match. “It is a simple thing, that is to assess the situation and play according to the situation. We have got batsmen who can bat. Most of the guys who bat at top five or six have Test hundreds or runs, so they can bat.”
“You saw Shreyas Iyer and (Rishabh) Pant come out and they batted for a while. Our batters have got to assess the situations and know that we have to bat for a while. We can’t be 100/6 in one-day games and that’s the crux of the matter there. They have to assess the situation and play accordingly.”
After the ODIs in Ahmedabad, West Indies will now try to put up a better batting show in the T20Is at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata starting from February 16.
–IANS
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