– Haynes pleased as batsmen spend time in the middle
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Marlon Samuels played some breathtaking shots in a classy half-century and then got the ball to spin and bounce to grab three quick wickets as the West Indies outplayed United Arab Emirates for their first win of the Carib-Asian Series.
The right-hander hit 53 from 69 balls with five boundaries and a huge straight six as the Windies amassed 315 off 49.5 overs. He then returned to take 3 for 13 from 8.1 overs as UAE folded for 70 from 38.1 overs, as the temperature reached close to 40 Degree Celsius at the International Cricket Council’s Global Cricket Academy ground.
For Samuels it was an ideal return with his off-breaks after recently being clear by the ICC to bowl again at the international level. He showed great control and ripped out the UAE lower order after a fired-up Kemar Roach (3-13) and leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo (3-22) were too much for the top-order batsmen.
Overall, it was a satisfying day for the West Indies as some of the batsmen came to the fore. Devon Thomas 88 (77 balls 5×4, 3×6), Christopher Barnwell 54 (21 balls 6×6, 2×4) skipper Darren Sammy 51 (49 balls 3×6, 2×4) and Andre Russell (32) all made good use of the perfect batting conditions against their less experienced opponents.
Samuels worked really hard as he added 138 for the third wicket with the aggressive Thomas who was on loan to the Windies from the Sagicor HPC. They came together at 10-2 in the fifth over after the openers Danza Hyatt and Keiran Powell went early. After that Sammy and Russell added 76 for the sixth wicket and Barnwell finished in style – with 100 runs coming in the last 10 overs.
Barnwell was with the Windies for the recent T20 Series in England and travelled to Dubai for the camp. He will return to the Caribbean on Tuesday to play in the Regional Super50, while the West Indies limited-overs squad heads to Bangladesh.
After the match, Batting Consultant Desmond Haynes said he was pleased with the way the batsmen went about their work as the squad continues preparations for the upcoming tour which features a T20 International, three One Day Internationals and two Tests.
"It was a good day for the team and it was pleasing to see the batsmen spending time at the crease, looking to score and put runs on the board and making wise use of the excellent conditions. It was good that four guys managed to get over 50 and we went on to get a big victory," said Haynes, the legendary opening batsman.
"The two guys who did not get any runs today, Powell and Danza Hyatt, I worked with them in the indoor nets for a couple of hours so they also had a useful exercise and I’m sure they benefitted from that as well. In the first game we did not really assess the wicket well, but today you could see the guys had the intention of occupying the crease and playing the way we expect them to and the way we know they can play. The whole approach to batting and the approach to the game were very good to see."
Looking ahead to the tour of Bangladesh, Haynes noted: "I would say this is good preparation for the series. The weather here is very hot and we know it will be testing in Bangladesh and it will be energy-sapping, so what we are getting here is the chance to plan and prepare well. The players will have to assess the conditions and after that decide and deliver."
Full Bangladesh Tour Schedule
October 7: 1st warm up – KSOAS
October 9: 2nd warm up – KSOAS
October 11: Twenty20 – SBNCS
October 13: 1st ODI – SBNCS
October 15: 2nd ODI – SBNCS
October 18: 3rd ODI – ZACS
October 21-25: 1st Test – ZACS
October 29-November 3: 2nd Test – SBNCS
Match venues
NCAG – National Cricket Academy Ground, Dhaka
KSOAS – Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Narayanganj
SBNCS – She-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka
ZACS – Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong
Limited-overs Squad: Darren Sammy (Captain), Adrian Barath, Devendra Bishoo, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Anthony Martin, Kieron Pollard, Keiran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons
: Darren Sammy (Captain), Adrian Barath, Devendra Bishoo, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Anthony Martin, Kieron Pollard, Keiran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons
Test Squad: Darren Sammy (Captain), Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Kirk Edwards, Keiran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Shane Shillingford
: Darren Sammy (Captain), Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Kirk Edwards, Keiran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Shane Shillingford