Chase key to WI aspirations in 50-over format
The presence of Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope means Chase is not the only batsmen with promise in this side. Hetmyer has four ODI hundreds, Pooran has one and Hope has two Test tons and seven three-figure scores in ODIs.
Chennai: Seven places separate second-placed India and West Indies in the One-day Internationals rankings going into Sunday’s match. India batting coach Vikram Rathour though said the visitors are one of the good teams in the shorter format, something the defending World T20 champions have shown a number of times.
Crucial to how West Indies perform in this three-match series after a fighting T20I series would be Roston Chase. The 27-year-old Bajan all-rounder has five Test centuries and skipper Kieron Pollard said, “It is good to have a guy who bats in the middle-order in Tests and comes into the ODI side and can play any role.”
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“And given that he can bowl as well gives us that opportunity to play an extra bowler or an allrounder, or an extra batter. He has been very valuable for us. Was a left-field selection but it has worked for us and he is going to be an integral part of the team going forward.”
The presence of Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope means Chase is not the only batsmen with promise in this side. Hetmyer has four ODI hundreds, Pooran has one and Hope has two Test tons and seven three-figure scores in ODIs. And they are all in their early to mid-20s with Chase being the oldest in the quartet.
“It is about preparation, about you being able to realise your goals and you are watching other guys who are doing it consistently,” said Pollard referring to West Indies assistant-coach Roddy Estwick’s comment that in India skipper Virat Kohli these players have a role model.
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“These are guys who eat and sleep cricket and that is something we as cricketers need to try to emulate. For the younger guys in our team, it is a matter of changing your training habits and knowing what you want to do for the team. I am really excited with this bunch because they are really putting in a lot of hard work. They are really trying to do what it takes to succeed at the international level.”
Pollard said talent was not a problem in the Caribbean but harnessing it is. “We have to find a way to do it. It is going to be a collective effort not only from us players, not only from the team management but guys in the offices back home and I am sure there are a lot of people backing the talent and backing it to do well. So, hopefully we will not be talking about talent alone but results as well,” he said here on Saturday.
