Ex-WI pacer hails performance against Aussies: ‘Aggressive’ warm-up win by WI

FORMER West Indies and Trinidad and Tobago fast bowler Tony Gray was delighted with the aggression shown by the West Indies in their 35-run victory over a weakened Australian team in their final T20 World Cup warm-up match at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on May 30.

It was a high-scoring affair which saw over 470 runs on the board from both sides, to go along with 31 sixes.

Similar to their previous warm-up match against Namibia, the Aussies only had nine of their World Cup squad players available, with Brad Hodge, chairman of selectors George Bailey and fielding coach Andre Borovec all taking fielding duty at some point during the contest.

Ironically, Borovec had an amusing moment during the Windies’ 257-run onslaught, as he dropped a swashbuckling Pooran during the eighth over of the regional team’s innings.

Gray said there were several standout performances from the game which augur well for the hosts, who begin their official campaign against Papua New Guinea on June 2.

Gray lauded Pooran’s electrifying knock of 75 runs from 25 balls, which included several stunning strikes. He also praised opener Johnson Charles’ (40) supporting role, skipper Rovman Powell (52), Sherfane Rutherford’s (47 not out) and the frugal Guyanese spinner Gudakesh Motie (2/31).

“It’s very good people understand their role by now,” Gray said on May 31.

“The way Pooran scored his runs was savage. Johnson Charles played a sensible role when Pooran was going guns blazing, because he was there to roll the ball around, and that’s the kind of cricket we want to see.

“I like the captain settling down after playing across the line of the ball after his first delivery, which was not in keeping with what was required on a surface like that. But he settled down nicely and batted some good overs.

“To me, Rutherford was also impressive, not only by scoring quickly but finishing unbeaten, it sets a psychological trend that he has to go after the runs smartly at that stage of the game.”

Pooran, the former Windies skipper, was in a no-nonsense mood, and his first two scoring shots were disdainful hits for six off Ashton Agar (one for 58) and Nathan Ellis respectively. Pooran treated the healthy Oval crowd to a belligerent cameo, with five fours and eight massive sixes.

Pooran raced to his fifty off just 16 balls after hitting leg-spinner Adam Zampa for a pair of sixes in the seventh over.

The Windies hit 18 sixes in their innings in total, with opener Johnson Charles (40 off 31 balls) and skipper Rovman Powell (52 off 25 balls) also getting in on the act with some powerful hitting. Charles shared in a 90-run partnership for the second wicket with Pooran, but he lost momentum in his innings before his eventual dismissal in the 13th over.

Though Pooran was the headline act, Powell also flexed his muscles with four sixes and he got to his fifty off 24 balls before being bowled by Tim David.

Powell’s dismissal paved the way for Guyanese left-hander Sherfane Rutherford who made a breezy 47 not out off 18 balls with four boundaries and four sixes. Rutherford showed off his powerful off-side game with a pair of thumping hits over cover against Zampa in the 17th over, and his flurry helped West Indies add 74 runs off the last five overs as they closed on 257 for four.

Though short-handed, the Aussies batted with aggression throughout and gave the Windies bowlers a good test.

The Aussies lost three wickets in the power play, but they still managed a healthy 89 runs off the first six overs as both David Warner (15 off six balls) and makeshift opener Agar (28 off 13 balls) let loose.

The Australian batsmen maintained a rapid scoring rate through the middle overs and got good contributions from David (25 off 12), Matthew Wade (25 off 14) and Nathan Ellis (39 off 22), while Josh Inglis top-scored with 55 off 30 balls.

Inglis played an array of shots on both sides of the wicket and he clouted five fours and four sixes in his innings before he was dismissed by Motie (two for 31) in the 14th over.

Once again, the Guyanese left-arm spinner showed his quality and guile under the pressure of big-hitting from the opposition, and his spell turned out to be the pick of the lot for the Windies.

The expensive Alzarri Joseph (two for 44) was also among the wickets and he accounted for Australia captain Mitchell Marsh (4) and Ellis who put on a show at the back end with some clean hitting.

Zampa (21 not out off 16 balls) also got his own back with a few boundaries in a brief cameo, but the Aussies were eventually restricted to 222 for seven as the hosts got the victory in front of an appreciative crowd, which created a festive atmosphere.

Akeal Hosein (one for 45), Shamar Joseph (one for 31), and Obed McCoy (one for 50) also picked up wickets for the Windies.

Coach Daren Sammy and his team will be aiming to get a third T20 World Cup crown. But first, they must navigate Group C which also includes Afghanistan, New Zealand and newcomers Uganda.

Summarised Scores: WEST INDIES - 257/4 (Nicholas Pooran 75, Rovman Powell 52, Sherfane Rutherford 47 not out; Adam Zampa 2/62, Tim David 1/40) vs AUSTRALIA 222/7 (Josh Inglis 55, Nathan Ellis 39, Ashton Agar 28; Gudakesh Motie 2/31, Alzarri Joseph 2/44). West Indies won by 35 runs.