PERTH, Australia (CMC) – West Indies middle order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has blamed a lack of form for a “scratchy” start to a half-century which announced his return to international cricket after more than a year.

Sarwan scored a patient 63 but West Indies lost to the Prime Minister’s X1 by 23 runs in a practice match Tuesday before the start of their five-match ODI series against Australia.
“I was a bit scratchy when I started but obviously that is due to the fact that I had a rough T20 tournament in the Caribbean,” said Sarwan whose knock included four fours.
“So I just thought I needed to hang around a bit and be a little patient and I was able to do that and it kind of paid off in the end.”
Sarwan struggled with 61 runs from eight innings in the recent Caribbean Twenty20 tournament in which his team Guyana finished runners-up to Trinidad and Tobago, the three-time champions.
He shared in an 89-run second-wicket stand with opener Kieran Powell who scored 92 before retiring hurt with leg cramps in the warm-up game against the Prime Minister’s X1.
“I think it was more or less form,” said Sarwan.
“The pitch really played well. But generally the fact that I was able to spend a little time at the crease it helped.”
Sarwan also hung around long enough to feature in a 51-run, sixth-wicket stand off 30 balls with Andre Russell who scored a daring 54.
The partnership revived the Windies hopes, with Russell in particular clobbering three fours and five sixes.
“It was important for me to at least get a one-day international game before we started for several reasons,” he said.
“Obviously I have been out for a while so I have not played international cricket for a while and I have not played against any one-day team so to speak but it was really good to actually get a game under my belt.”