KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) – Newly-installed West Indies coach Ottis Gibson has called for the preparation of quicker pitches throughout the region.
He said the pitches encountered in the Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana leg of the current Zimbabwe tour had been more ideal for slow bowling and had not suited West Indies’ brand of cricket.
Pointing to the Arnos Vale pitch where West Indies pulled off an emphatic 141-run victory on Wednesday, the former West Indies fast bowler said not only had the strip endured the demands of a One-Day International but it also provided the faster bowlers with much needed assistance.
“We just want to see a good wicket. This wicket (for the third ODI at Arnos Vale) was a good wicket. It stood up to the 100 overs of cricket and obviously we were able to come out on top,” Gibson asserted.
“We just want to see good pitches that can promote the sort of cricket that we want to play.”
West Indies were greeted by spin-friendly strips in their first three matches against Zimbabwe and struggled as a result.
They went down by 26 runs in the one-off Twenty20 International at the Queen?s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago while dominated by Zimbabwe’s spin quartet and also fell by two runs in similar conditions in the opening ODI at the National cricket stadium in Guyana.
They eked out a four-wicket win with 13 balls to spare in the second one-dayer at that venue before dominating Zimbabwe for the first time on a pitch where their seamers prospered.
“It’s also nice to get a wicket that’s got a little bit of assistance for fast bowlers,” said Gibson who played two Tests and 15 ODIs for West Indies.
“The wickets that we played on up to now have been pretty ordinary wickets and didn’t lend much assistance to fast bowlers.
“Obviously there was a lot of spin in Trinidad and Guyana so it was nice to see a wicket with a little bit of grass that had a little bit in it for the fast bowlers.”
He said it was important that the region produced good wickets so spectators could be treated to entertaining cricket.
“People come in the stands and they want to see fours and sixes and that sort of cricket but the wickets we have played on up to now haven’t been fours-and-sixes type of wickets so this wicket was a good wicket,” Gibson pointed out.
“Well done to the groundsman and hopefully he can give us something similar to this (in the remaining matches).”