Windies batting must improve - Sammy

Ryon Jones, Staff Reporter

West Indies captain Darren Sammy bemoaned his team's poor batting display in the two-match Twenty20 series against Ireland, despite the regional men carving out a 11-run win in yesterday's ultimate game.

The reigning T20 world champions were restricted to 96 for 9, their second-lowest total in the shortest official version of the game, in yesterday's match at Sabina Park.

"We are not happy with the way that we have batted as a team," Sammy said.

"On this pitch, yes it is difficult to score, but it is not a 96 and 116 pitch. It is more like a 120, 140 pitch, and both teams struggled to adjust to the conditions.

"As a batting group, we did not show that we learned from the first game, we were poorer than the first game. It is good to get the victory, but as a batting unit, we have a long way to go."

Sammy was named man-of-the-match for his three-wicket haul off his allowed four overs, which went for 22 runs, but the victory was orchestrated by the trio of Krishmar Santokie , Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree, who all took a wicket a piece and conceded no more than 13 runs each off their four overs.

"For us to win the game, we had to have a good start (in the bowling); and Santokie and Bandree, especially Santokie in his first match, coming back into the West Indies team, just continued to do what he has done in the regional T20 and CPL last year," Sammy said.

"So it is good when you have guys coming in and staking a claim right away. Come the World Cup, when we are ready to face India, once the selectors have a headache to pick the 11, that is all good for the team."

Ireland's coach, Phil Simmons, believes his team is getting to where they need to be ahead of next month's play-offs for a place in the Super 10 stage of the T20 World Cup to be staged in Bangladesh from March 16 to April 6. He is, however, looking for his batsmen to step up their game.

"We have been trying for the last four to five months to get the bowlers to be able to use their skills, and that seems to be working well," Simmons said.