Batsmen can handle any opposition

FORMER West Indies manager Omar Khan believes the West Indies bowling attack is missing a quality spinner, but is confident that the batsmen can compete with any opposition led by the trio of Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer.

West Indies concluded their tour of India on Sunday, losing both the T20 and One Day International series 2-1. The regional team surprised many with their competitive play throughout the tour under new captain Kieron Pollard and new coach Phil Simmons.

“Our batting I think could hold its own. We have proven that our batting could hold its own against any opposition, but in terms of the bowling we need to improve on the bowling a little bit,” Khan said.

Hetmyer led the way, during the T20 series for West Indies, with 120 runs at an average of 40 with Pollard the next best batsman with 105 runs at an average of 52.50.

Hope, who ends 2019 as one of the most prolific ODI batsmen in the world, cracked 222 runs at an average of 111 in the ODI series. Pooran showed his potential with 193 runs at an average of 96.50 and Hetmyer scored 180 runs at 60 runs per innings.

The West Indies batting future looks promising as Hetmyer turns 23 on Boxing Day, Pooran is 24 and Hope is 26.

Khan was satisfied with the West Indies performance, but wants more consistency. “There was definite improvement in terms of the intensity in which we played (with) on the field. You could see a lot more focus and a lot of more purpose in terms of how the guys played. My only concern is a little more consistency in both the batting and bowling. We need to understand when playing the number one team or the higher ranked teams we need to be more consistent, a little more smart.”

The former West Indies manager said the team needs to assess situations better and adapt to the different playing conditions.

Speaking about his highlights of the tour, Khan said, “Definitely the consistency of Nicholas Pooran, Shai Hope and Hetmyer and of course Pollard’s captaincy and his ability to motivate and have the guys really playing together as a unit.”

Khan, who worked alongside Pooran and Hetmyer as manager of the Guyana Amazon Warriors during the 2019 Hero Caribbean Premier League, is more confident in the batting going forward rather than the bowling.

“Batting (I am more confident in). I think the bowling needs a lot more work. We really need to get more penetrative bowlers who could take wickets. (Sheldon) Cottrell has been leading the attack in terms of the shorter formats, but we need to get support for him. We need a quality spinner, a spinner who could come in the middle overs (and) take wickets and also have control.”

Khan said the return of medium pacers Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell, along with spinner Sunil Narine could boost the bowling attack and wants to see leg spinner Hayden Walsh Jnr bowling more often.