Athanaze calls for more Windies aggression in second Test
MULTAN, Pakistan (CMC) — West Indies middle-order batsman Alick Athanaze wants to see his fellow batters play more sweep shots and be more aggressive against Pakistan’s spinners in the second Test in an attempt to unsettle them.
West Indies went down by 127 runs inside three days in the opening Test at the Multan Cricket Stadium, with Pakistan’s spinners Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Abrar Ahmed taking all 20 wickets to fall.
Athanaze was the lone West Indian to put up any resistance, top-scoring with 55 in the second innings.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the second Test which begins at the same venue on Saturday, Athanaze said a more positive approach was needed by the West Indies.
“…If you looked at most of the guys that scored runs on the wicket, they played a lot of sweeps and they played aggressive.
“It only looked that way because I think we didn’t execute as well as we wanted to, but I think we will have a similar approach in terms of playing our sweeps and playing our shots,” Athanaze said.
“I think my suggestion to the other batters is to probably try and execute and look at the ball a bit longer.
“It is difficult to bat on the wickets here, no doubt, so I guess just trust your defence and work on your sweeps and your reverse sweeps.”
Athanaze said while Pakistan had several world class bowlers, the West Indies needed to find ways to dominate them.
“I think they understand their conditions very well. I think they have world-class bowlers to be honest and the conditions suit them very well.
“So, I think for us as batters it’s probably for us to try and get them off their game, try to think one step ahead of them all the time, try to get in their heads and see what they’re trying to do to us and try to combat that,” Athanaze said.
He admitted that even though Pakistan was a more experienced outfit, he expected a better showing from the West Indies in the decisive Test.
“I think it’s mainly experience. I think they seized a lot more key moments than us [in the first Test],” Athanaze said.
“They are an experienced bunch, and I think the most experienced for us is our captain and then after that I think everyone else has played 10 Tests.
“So, I think it’s really about experience for us. We’re learning on the job so I have no doubt that the second Test will be better.”
