A RECORD partnership between Marlon Samuels and Denesh Ramdin has set up West Indies to launch an assault in the final ten overs against Australia in their Ballr Cup tri-nation series match at Kensington Oval today.
With both batsmen in full flow in an unbroken fourth wicket stand of 168, West Indies reached 199 for three after 40 overs.
It represented a major recovery after they were reduced to 31 for three in the first ten overs.
Samuels, unbeaten on 91 off 111 balls, reached 5 000 runs in One-Day Internationals when he scored 70, while Ramdin, undefeated on 73 off 83 balls, became the first West Indies wicket-keeper to compete 2 000 runs in the shorter form of the game.
The partnership between Samuels and Ramdin bettered the previous best fourth wicket stand in a One-Day International at the ground – 132 between Carl Hooper and Stuart Williams against England in 1998.
It was also the West Indies’ highest fourth wicket partnership against Australia.
Australia’s new ball attack of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood posed problems for West Indies at the start, removing Johnson Charles (0), Darren Bravo (15) and Andre Fletcher (9)