Former West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd hailed the team’s performance in their first ICC World Cup 2019 match against Pakistan. Lloyd termed Windies performance as clinical and said the team from the Carribean used the pitch to their advantage.
“I thought the West Indies were quite clinical against Pakistan. They used the pitch to their advantage in the sense that it had a bit of life and they put pressure on Pakistan,” International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Lloyd as saying.
West Indies bowlers were seen in instrumental form in their first World Cup match against Pakistan on Friday. Oshane Thomas and Andre Russell starred for the Windies as they bundled out Pakistan for a low score of 105. Thomas picked up four wickets whereas Russell bowled a barrage of bouncers and he scalped the key wickets of Fakhar Zaman and Haris Sohail.
“They used the pitch to their advantage in the sense that it had a bit of life and they put pressure on Pakistan. They didn’t handle it too well and overall it was a very good first game for the West Indies. They now have to keep things going and should be looking now to try and qualify,” Lloyd said.
Llyod even said that Pakistan has given the team a lot of problems in the past so it was good to see Windies showcase such a performance and he even opined that the team will upset few more big nations in the tournament.
“I think Pakistan have previously given us problems so it was a very admirable performance and I can only wish Jason Holder and the rest of the boys well for the rest of the tournament. I’m sure they will upset a few of the big boys if they play like that,” Lloyd said.
“This game has proven that we have some firepower and that means we can match anybody in this competition. We have to try and test out our batting now, that’s the real test going forward. We have to see how they do when they have to bat first and try and post a good total,” he added.
West Indies next play against Australia in the World Cup and Llyod said that Aussies will provide a good test to the team from the Carribean and he hopes that the next week will provide excellent cricketing action in the World Cup.
“Australia has got some firepower and some very good batsmen, so that should be an excellent game. That will give you an idea if the West Indies can qualify or not. It’s going to be a good test and I also want to see the game against England, that too is going to be quite the contest,” Lloyd said.
“The next week or so is going to be very exciting for this competition. From what I’ve seen so far, though, I think the West Indies do possess enough to qualify for the last four,” he added.
Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Ben Stansall
