BALAGOLLA, Sri Lanka (CMC):
WEST INDIES bowling coach James Franklin is calling for better execution from his bowlers for the remaining two matches of their One-Day International series against Sri Lanka.
The West Indies lost the opening ODI on Sunday by five wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method after over three hours of play were lost due to heavy showers.
It means that the Windies must win the final two matches – the second of which is on Wednesday at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium – if they are to capture the best-of-three series.
Franklin, a former New Zealand all-rounder, said he believed the West Indies fell down in the bowling department.
“We were given a total that we felt that we could defend, and we had a great start with the ball. We got three wickets in that power play reduced down to eight overs and had Sri Lanka under some pressure, but they had a really significant partnership with the captain Asalanka and the debutant Madushka,” Franklin pointed out.
“We probably weren’t as good with our execution with the ball yesterday [Sunday]. I think that will be the general reflection, and going into the next game, I think we can be a lot better with our execution, with our lengths, particularly.
“Look, we’re 1-0 down in this three-game series. We’ve got a couple of days now to reflect and work on where our improvements lie going into this next game,” he added.
Franklin said the Caribbean side expected a tough challenge against Sri Lanka, especially with the wickets tailor-made for spinners.
And while he admitted that the opening loss was disappointing, he maintained that the Windies were still very much in with a chance of winning the series.
“We’re on a journey as an ODI team, and we have to keep improving, keep trying to move ourselves up the rankings in terms of the ICC table.
“We’re coming here to Sri Lanka, who has always been a good team in their own country and difficult to beat in their own conditions, so we know we have a huge challenge these next couple of games … ,” Franklin said.
“While [Sunday] was disappointing, we know that we’re still in this series. We know we have a huge game coming up on Wednesday, and we just have to execute our skills for longer.
“We know what surface we’re going to get. It’s going to be a very similar surface again, so we’re going to prep well today, tomorrow and make sure that we’re a little bit better with our execution or better with our execution with the ball,” he added.