National cricket team captain Brendan Taylor is still hopeful of winning today’s second ODI match against West Indies despite a woeful series opener on Friday. BY MICHAEL MAYIRA
Centuries from Johnson Charles and Darren Bravo spurred the Windies to a commanding 337-4 as Zimbabwe fell by 156 runs in this three-match series.
In a pathetic display with both the ball and bat, Zimbabwe were restricted to 181-9 as Malcolm Waller top scored for the tourists after staggering to a half century, a far cry from man-of-the-match Charles’ 130 off 111 deliveries.
The visitors’ top-order was quickly blown away with Hamilton Masakadza, scrapping only four runs for the third wicket stand.
With conditions in the Caribbean favouring fast bowlers, Zimbabwe’s lack of a genuine fast bowler proved to be a blessing to the Windies as Charles struck 12 fours and four sixes.
In the aftermath of the morale-sapping defeat, Taylor is still harbouring hopes of turning the tables to level the series today.
“We were outplayed completely. They were really professional in their business. Our preparation has been good, we are looking forward to the remaining two ODIs, hopefully we can turn it around. We gave too many boundary balls, the fielding was bad as well. The top order has to do better in the next game,” Taylor told Cricbuzz.com.
The islanders came 10 runs short of tallying their highest ODI score against Zimbabwe after posting 347 in Bulawayo 10 years ago Returning to Friday’s venue, the Grenada National Stadium, Charles is today looking to picking up from where he left with another dominant display.
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“Consistency is the key for me. That is what makes you a good player,” said Charles.
“I will look to build an innings and look to get consistent scores for the team. I have increased my range of strokes and I now realise I have more scoring options. I look to work the ball into the gaps and pick off runs, not just blast everything out of the ground.”
