Shamarh Brooks keen to continue learning during Pakistan tour

WEST INDIES batsman Shamarh Brooks is keen to continue learning during the brief One-Day International (ODI) tour of Pakistan.

Brooks scored 72 but the West Indies fell to a five-wicket defeat to the hosts in the first ODI in Multan. The second ODI will take place on Friday and the final ODI will be contested on Sunday – all in Multan.

The 33-year-old Brooks, who made his ODI debut in January at home to Ireland, was part of the WI team who played three T20 Internationals in Pakistan last December. The scheduled three ODIs were pushed back to June, due to covid19 cases in the WI squad.

During a zoom media conference on Thursday, the top-order batsman said, “I think the pitches are definitely similar. We played in Karachi when we were here in December and now we’re playing here in Multan.

“It’s my third time here,” he continued. “I’ve been here when I was a player with the West Indies Under-19 in 2006. It’s just about continuing to learn, take these experiences under your belt and keep growing.”

The heat factor has been highlighted since the team arrived in Pakistan, and Brooks pointed out, “It was not as bad as we thought it would have been though, hearing the amount of degrees here in Pakistan, especially in Multan, but I think the guys did exceptionally well, in terms of how they held up coming from the contrasting conditions in the Netherlands.”

Asked about adjusting to ODI cricket, Brooks replied, “I don’t it much different from Test cricket. It’s just an opportunity to go deep and play the role the team has given me.

“It’s a nice challenge, a different challenge and I’ve been enjoying it.”

However, Brooks was left out of the West Indies team for the first Test match against Bangladesh, at Antigua, from June 16-20, having tallied only 422 runs in eight Tests, with an average of 28.13.

According to the Barbadian batsman, “For Test cricket, I guess it’s being more disciplined and having proper shot selection. In this format, bowlers tend to work the variations so it makes it easier to score than in Test cricket, where guys try to be more consistent as possible.”