St George’s, Grenada Sunil Narine enjoyed the superb batting of his team-mates in the first One-Day International against Zimbabwe, and said he also enjoyed bowling on the surface at the Grenada National Stadium.
The off-spinner had a front row seat as Johnson Charles cracked 130 off 111 balls – his second consecutive ODI century – and Darren Bravo stroked a sensational unbeaten 100 off just 71 balls – his maiden century in this format.
After the Windies amassed 337-4 off 50 overs – their fourth highest score of all time – Narine was introduced into the attack in the first 10 overs and quickly settled down with two wickets. He ended with the impressive figures of 3-28 off 10 overs as Zimbabwe could only muster 181-9 off 50 overs.
His effort moved him to second place in the International Cricket Council’s One-Day Bowling Rankings. He will be looking for more success in the second One-Day International on Sunday. First ball is 9:30 am (8:30 am Jamaica Time).
"It was great to watch the batsmen get some big runs and set up a very good score. I was happy for Johnno (Charles) who got his second straight century and Darren who got his first ODI hundred. They both batted really well gave me a lot to bowl at. When I came on I could find my range and look for wickets," Narine told WICB Media.
The 24-year-old was speaking on Saturday after he and team-mates had a full training session at the Grenada National Stadium.
"I came on at a tough time when the batsmen were really going at it, but I got an early wicket and that helped me to settle down and concentrate on the job at hand. They had a plan to sweep the ball. I just have to work on my length to make sweeping a lot harder. That is something I tried yesterday [Friday] and again today in the nets. If I adopt that approach tomorrow [Sunday] they won’t find it easy to get me away."
Narine added: "I will be looking for wickets when I come on to bowl and to create major problems for the batsmen. I am an attacking bowler and I know when I come on, the team will be expecting me to hit my lengths from early.
"I just have to concentrate on what I have to do and not get carried away with the occasion. We have just come off the tour of Australia and I realised I had to adjust my lengths and bowl a bit fuller than I did on the pitches down there [in Australia]. I will look also to bowl a little slower here and vary my pace a bit more."
Meanwhile, allrounder Kieron Pollard joined the squad and is available for selection for Sunday’s second match of the International Home Series 2013. Left-hander Jonathan Carter will remain with the squad as cover for Charles, who was struck on the foot during his knock on Friday. A decision on his participation in the second ODI will be made on Sunday morning before the toss.
INTERNATIONAL HOME SERIES 2013 SCHEDULE
Fri, Feb 22: 1st ODI – West Indies won by 156 runs at Grenada National Stadium, Grenada
Sun, Feb 24: 2nd One-Day International – Grenada National Stadium, Grenada
Tue, Feb 26: 3rd One-Day International – Grenada National Stadium, Grenada
Sat, Mar 2: 1st Twenty20 International – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua
Sun, Mar 3: 2nd Twenty20 International – Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua
Thu, Mar 7 to Sat, Mar 9: Tour match – Windward Sports Club, Barbados
Tue, Mar 12 to Sat, Mar 16: 1st Test – Kensington Oval, Barbados
Wed, Mar 20 to Sun, Mar 24: 2nd Test – Windsor Park, Dominica