DUBAI – West Indies legend Des Haynes said Saturday he was pleased with the improvement in the side’s batting, after the tourists piled up in excess of 300 against the United Arab Emirates in a one-day game.
Playing in the Carib-Asian Tournament at the ICC Global Cricket Academy, the Windies tallied 315 to run out easy winners by 245 runs.
“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,” said Haynes who now serves as the team batting consultant.
“It was good that four guys managed to get over 50 and we went on to get a big victory.”
Devon Thomas, a player on tour with the High Performance Centre, got 88 playing for the Windies while Chris Barnwell slammed a quickfire 54.
Marlon Samuels hit 53 while captain Darren Sammy chipped in with an entertaining 51.
The total was a huge improvement on the side’s opening game on Thursday when they were bundled out for a disappointing 73 against the HPC.
“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,” said Haynes.
“The whole approach to batting and the approach to the game were very good to see,” said the former West Indies opener whose illustrious career yielded 7 487 runs from 116 Tests and 8 648 runs from 238 One-Day Internationals (ODIs).
West Indies are preparing for the tour of Bangladesh where they will play two Tests, three ODIs and one Twenty20 International, starting October 11. (CMC)
