Hat-trick star Roach claims West Indies is better than Bangladesh

West Indies will have nothing to fear when they take on Bangladesh in a crucial World Cup game in Dhaka, says fast bowling hat-trick star Kemar Roach.

By Abhaya Srivastava

 

New Delhi: Mar 1, 2011

 

West Indies will have nothing to fear when they take on Bangladesh in a crucial World Cup game in Dhaka, says fast bowling hat-trick star Kemar Roach.

 

The Caribbean side posted a thumping 215-run victory over the Netherlands on Monday to revive their campaign after having lost to South Africa in their opening game.

 

The West Indies, who have slipped to a dismal ninth place in the one-day rankings below Bangladesh, take on Shakib Al Hasan’s men on Friday in a match where the result could be vital in the quarter-final shake-up.

 

“We take a lot of confidence into the game against Bangladesh,” said 22-year-old Roach, who grabbed only the sixth hat-trick in World Cup history against the Dutch. “This match was good preparation for the Bangladesh game. We’ll go there on a high. Bangladesh are an improving team but we are better than them.”

 

Bangladesh are tied with West Indies on two points in Group B. They lost to India by 87 runs but fought back to beat Ireland by a 27-run margin. Roach’s confidence stemmed from his own stellar performance against the Netherlands which saw him grab a career-best 6-27 off 8.3 overs including a maiden hat-trick.

 

“I feel really great. This is an amazing feeling, getting a hat-trick and doing it in the World Cup. We needed a win and the captain and the coach asked me to be aggressive and go for the wickets. I knew I had to give it my all and that’s exactly what I did. At first it (hat-trick) was not on my mind. I was just looking to finish off the batsmen and get the win for the team but then the captain pointed out to me that I was on a hat-trick. I went for broke and it worked,” he said.

 

Roach, who opened the bowling Monday with left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn, dismissed talk about not having a partner to match his pace especially in a side which was once renowned for hunting in fast-bowling pairs.

 

“I don’t feel as though as I am left out. Benn is a very good partner of mine. To see that two guys from Barbados are opening the bowling for the West Indies is great.

 

“Our bowling is coming on. We have some very good bowlers and once we click we can get the job done. We can definitely repeat this kind of performance (against any other side).

 

Roach, who has 33 wickets from 17 ODIs, admitted that bowling in sub-continental conditions required special skills. “It’s tough coming here as a bowler to the subcontinent, you have to be very accurate and consistent, once you get that right, you get wickets,” he said.

 

© AFP

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