West Indies eye rebound in ODI series against Pakistan
West Indies pace bowler Jayden Seales is confident that his team can bounce back from their 1-2 defeat to Pakistan in the Twenty20 series, focusing on improving their execution in the One Day Internationals (ODIs).
The ODI series is scheduled to bowl off this afternoon at 1:00 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad & Tobago. The remaining two matches are slated for Sunday, August 10 and Tuesday, August 12 at the same venue.
“We are confident that we can bounce back from it,” Seales said. “We know where we went wrong and so it’s about putting all our skills into practice and looking forward to the start of the series on Friday.”
The series against Pakistan is a crucial opportunity for West Indies to regroup and showcase their skills in a different format. Seales emphasised the importance of getting their tactics right, particularly for the new-ball bowlers.
“It’s about getting our tactics right, training with a purpose, keeping our intensity high in training, and just work on the things that we fell short on in past games and get better as we go along,” the 23-year-old Trinidadian said.
As a new-ball bowler, Seales is determined to make an impact.
“It’s a bit different for me, being the new-ball bowler in the team now is getting wickets at the top and if that doesn’t go to plan then obviously keep the runs down. I will take six, I will take five and a half [run rate] in one-day cricket in this day and age,” explained Seales.
Seales also highlighted the role of the batsmen, particularly during the power play.
“The batters, it’s about being smart. Obviously, we know how the power play overs go with two fielders outside the 30-yard circle and so they will take calculated risks as expected, that’s the role of the opening batsmen in the power play,” he said.
According to Seales, the key to success lies in playing the situation and adapting to the game’s progression.
“And we play the situation as it comes along, rotate the strike when we can, put away the bad balls, just play basic cricket,” confirmed Seales.
— Ruddy Allen