Joseph ripped through Ireland, who elected to bat first at Kensington Oval, taking 4-32 as they were rolled for just 180.
Lorcan Tucker (31) top-scored for Ireland in the opening game of three ODIs, but they struggled after being reduced to 88-6.
Lewis ensured there were few hiccups in the chase for the Windies as the opener held firm despite wickets falling around him, the hosts reaching their target with 100 balls to spare.
Brandon King (20), Roston Chase (19) and Nicholas Pooran (17) provided enough support for Lewis, who dominated.
The left-hander hit 13 fours and two sixes on his way to an unbeaten 99 off as many balls as he fell agonisingly short of a third ODI century.
Needing one to win and sitting on 95, Lewis produced a huge drive as he chased a ton, but it bounced just before the rope and went for four.
The second game of the series is in Bridgetown on Thursday.
Lara, speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, for instance, believes talented 23-year-old Shimron Hetmyer has personal issues like his fitness that he needs to deal with before he is quite ready to take the world by storm.
“People have challenges in different ways and Hetmyer, obviously, is a very talented cricketer, someone who plays all forms of the game for the West Indies. If he is unfit, he has to see it as a personal challenge. Fitness levels are so very important. So if fitness is his problem, I would like to see him face that challenge himself, and he’ll be a much better cricketer,” said Lara.
Lara though, has much more immediate hopes for others in the West Indies squad like Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran and Alzarri Joseph.
According to the former Windies captain, Pooran understands his role in the team, while the West Indies can find Hope’s stability useful, even in the T20 form of the game, while Joseph is a gamechanger with his ability to take wickets.
“I like Nicholas Pooran, he’s settling down and understanding his responsibilities more now. Shai Hope could play a part in the T20 World Cup, being that solid guy with a great technique that can hold the innings together. Those are the three players I’m really looking forward to seeing. Alzarri Joseph is someone who I look at and say ‘this guy has got potential, he’s a wicket-taker’. He is someone who I’d like to see do well,” said Lara.
Lara, as he has said before, believes the team can learn much from the example of Virat Kohli.
Kohli, he said, has worked hard on his fitness and that, Lara explained, is the perfect lead for Hetmyer to follow.
South Africa, after winning the toss and batting first, were bowled out for 160 in 54 overs while the West Indies were 97-7 after 28.2 overs in reply, trailing by 63 runs at stumps on day one.
South Africa were made to rue their decision to bat first very quickly as Tony de Zorzi (1), Aiden Markram (14), Temba Bavuma (0) and Tristan Stubbs (26) all fell before the 25th over to leave them reeling at 57-4.
That quickly became 97-9 when Kyle Verreynne, their last recognized batsman, became Shamar Joseph’s fifth victim of the innings with just 36.1 overs on the board.
With the West indies seemingly on the brink of restricting South Africa to less than 100, Dane Piedt and Nandre Burger showed grit, fighting off some quality West Indian bowling on the way to a final wicket partnership of 63 before Burger finally fell off the bowling of Gudakesh Motie for 23 in the 54th over.
David Bedingham was South Africa’s top scorer in the first innings with 28.
Joseph finished with figures of 5-33 off 14 overs and was supported well by Jayden Seales who took 3-45, also from 14 overs.
The West Indian reply got off to a disappointing start when Mikyle Louis was bowled by Burger for a duck in the second over.
The hosts then continued to lose wickets at regular intervals as Kraigg Brathwaite (3), Alick Athanaze (1), Kavem Hodge (4), Keacy Carty (26), and Joshua Da Silva (4) all fell within the first 20 overs.
Wiaan Mulder celebrating the wicket of Joshua Da Silva.
Jason Holder has so far provided the only meaningful resistance to the South African bowling with 33* while Gudakesh Motie’s wicket for 11 in the 29th over signaled the end of the day’s play.
Wiaan Mulder has dominated the West Indian batting so far with a career best 4-18 off six overs while Burger has taken 2-32 from his seven overs.
Full Scores:
South Africa160 off 54 overs (David Bedingham 28, Tristan Stubbs 26, Shamar Joseph 5-33, Jayden Seales 3-45)
West Indies97-7 off 28.2 overs (Jason Holder 33*, Keacy Carty 26, Wiaan Mulder 4-18, Nandre Burger 2-32)
Roach is returning home due to the death of his father, Andrew Smith, last week while Dowrich is said to be returning home for personal reasons. However, the duo are not the only concerns for the West Indies selectors.
Left-hander Shimron Hetmyer is still under concussion protocols following the blow to his head sustained in the second T20 International, while all-rounder Keemo Paul is still being treated for a groin injury. They are both being closely monitored by the team's medical staff and decisions on their availability will be made at a later date.
As such, in addition to DaSilva being called up a replacement for Dowrich, middle-order batsman Nkrumah Bonner and left-arm fast bowler Preston McSween will remain with the squad as cover.
The second Test will be played at the historic Basin Reserve in Wellington, starting on Friday (Thursday 6pm Eastern Caribbean Time/5pm Jamaica Time). West Indies trail 0-1 after New Zealand won the first match by an innings and 134 runs.
Squad for the second Test:
Jason Holder (captain), Roston Chase (vice-captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua DaSilva, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Chemar Holder, Alzarri Joseph and Keemo Paul.
The 22-year-old wicketkeeper/batsman made his senior debut for Trinidad and Tobago in December 2018 and, so far, has made a case for future selection to the West Indies senior team.
In 16 first-class matches, Da Silva has scored 855 runs at an average of 32.88. In those matches, he has scored an unbeaten century and five fifties. It was a good enough record to have him called to the reserve squad when the West Indies travelled to England for the three-Test #Raisethebat series earlier this summer.
He was the only player to score a century in the warm-up matches as the West Indies prepared to defend the Wisden Trophy.
“That experience in England was truly amazing and probably the best experience of my cricketing career, so far,” he told Sportsmax.TV.
“To score that 100 was an amazing feeling. Even to be part of that set-up was something I could only dream of, but definitely I think I can break into the senior team very soon. I just have to keep showing the selectors that I am worthy of playing at that level and just keep scoring runs, that is the only currency there is.
“Jimmy Adams (CWI Director of Cricket) told me that last year, there is only one currency in cricket and that is runs and I am just going to try and do that to the best of my ability, so once I score runs I should be able to move up the ranks very quickly.”
Such is his thinking, that Da Silva doesn’t just want to get into the senior side. Once he gets there, he plans to be there for a long time.
“I think I can be a good asset to the West Indie senior team. My goal is just to get into the team and make my debut, make a statement and be there for a long time,” he said.
“But once I get in, the goal is to stay in. I don’t just want to play at that level, I want to be great at it. I want to perform and represent the West Indies for as long as I can.”
“Keemo Paul has been kept out in the recent past due to injury and we view the management of his body as paramount to his success, not only when on West Indies duty but also when he is with his regional franchise. We have watched him perform in the recent West Indies Championship Four-Day Competition for the Guyana Harpy Eagles and we think he is ready to come back into the fold,” said CWI Lead Selector, the Most Honorable Dr. Desmond Haynes.
During the first-class tournament Paul was the leading fast bowler and second highest wicket-taker overall. He ended the five matches with 20 wickets at an average of 22.8 runs per wicket. He had best figures of 6-50. He was also among the leading allrounders with 169 runs including a highest score of 73.
The West Indies tour of Pakistan will bowl off on Wednesday, June 8. First ball is 4pm PKT time (7am Eastern Caribbean/6am Jamaica).
The series will also form part of the ICC ODI Super League where the teams will have the chance to earn points as they try to secure automatic qualification to the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India.
Heading into the series, the team’s top batsmen averaged in their 30s, their average performance during the series has not even lived up to that. The batting average of the Windies’ batsmen in the series was 27.86 and, shockingly, stands out as one of the best for a series in the past several years.
In fact, it is the fourth-best for the team’s batsmen among all the series consisting of two or more matches since 2017.
The team’s highest batting average in a Test series consisting of at least two matches since 2017 is 34.66 and that was against Zimbabwe in 2017. For Harper, the improvement needed must begin at home, with improved performances in first-class cricket.
“As far as our first-class game is concerned it is important for us to set standards for our players. I don’t think we can continue to be content with picking players averaging 30 in first-class cricket that has to change,” Harper told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“Our international batsmen have to understand that when they get to our regional competition they have to dominate and average 50 and 55. That’s what happens in the other international territories. Players looking to break into the team that’s what they have to be aiming for," he added.
“If we keep rewarding players for mediocrity we are going to get mediocre performances.”
Kings XI finished a disappointing 6th place in the final IPL standings, after missing out on a spot in the playoffs. A good portion of the team’s season had, however, focused on a five-game winning streak, which had put them in unlikely contention for the final four after a 1-7 start.
The man at the centre of the winning streak, Gayle, had spent the early days of the competition sitting on the bench, while Australian Glenn Maxwell, who had huge expectations placed on him heading into the season, continued to disappoint.
He wasn’t alone, however, as Gayle’s international teammate Cottrell also failed to live up to expectations after commanding a whopping INR 8.5 crore ($US1,156,239) at the auction. In the end, Cottrell ended the competition with six wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 8.80. Chopra believes, ahead of the next campaign, several changes should be considered
"Kings XI Punjab have a reasonable need of a mega auction because they need changes. They have to do something for the fast bowling unit because it will not work out with the ones they have," Chopra said in his review of the season.
"They should leave out Sheldon Cottrell, they should leave Hardus Viljoen also if they are not playing him, and they should leave Maxwell as well," Chopra added.
"They can keep Gayle if he wants to play although he is 41-years old. But the IPL is just a few months away and he was not expensive as well. So they can keep him as he is an X-factor and an intimidating factor," Chopra continued.
The pundit, however, believed the team would have to weigh its options more carefully if there is an IPL mega auction next year, in which case retaining Gayle may not be a good idea.
The most experienced member of the current West Indies bowling attack, the 31-year-old Barbadian is only seven wickets away having so far taken 193 wickets in 56 Tests but he is hungry for much more.
“The 200-mark is on my mind – it would be an honour to get into the 200 bracket on this tour. My focus is getting to the mark and maybe push on to over 250 and maybe 300. But the goal is to beat England. We want to win again and take back home the trophy,” he said during a media session on Sunday.
Roach was the Man-of-the-Series when the West Indies upset the heavily favoured England 2-1 during their Caribbean tour in early 2019. Roach took 18 wickets in three matches and said he is ready for a repeat performance when the first Test bowls off on July 8.
“The 2019 series was great. We played really well especially that match in Barbados … that was one of the highlights especially in front of many of my fans and family. I rate that as number 1 in my career when it comes to (performances in a) series. We played great cricket but we have moved on … we were high on then but we’ve moved on to this series which is ahead of us,” Roach said.
Roach said the team is working hard to shake off the rust after an extended period of inactivity caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.
“We haven’t played for a while. Our last Test match was December last year against Afghanistan in India. We have been working very hard and we have games coming up to get our bodies tuned. I’m looking forward to it. The body is feeling quite well.”
However, he has asked for the public to be patient with the team’s batsmen, whom he believes will eventually deliver to their full potential.
Seales, 19, took eight wickets in the recently concluded first Betway Test against Pakistan at Sabina Park that the West Indies won by one wicket. During the Pakistan second innings, Seales took career-best figures of 5-55 and became the youngest West Indies bowler to take five wickets in an innings as the West Indies bowled the visitors for 203.
He and Roach then stitched together an unbroken 10th wicket partnership of 17 to lead the West Indies to victory.
During a virtual press conference with the media on Monday, Roach said he believes Seales has a bright future.
“He has come into the family. I have the greatest hopes for him. He is a good student. He listens, he works really hard and he is learning every day,” Roach said, highlighting that Seales is yet another member of a talented group of bowlers that the West Indies have at its disposal.
“Obviously, with Shannon (Gabriel) back when he is ready, myself, Jason (Holder), him (Seales); Alzarri is there and there are a couple of other guys in the Caribbean, Chemar Holder, Keon Harding, Preston McSween; we have a really good corps fast bowlers coming through.
“So, I believe in any one of them at any point in time, once given the opportunity will get the job done. They just have to stay together, keep working hard, keep communicating and keep working on their skills. I don’t see no limit when it comes to our bowling attack challenging any Test line up so there is a great future for us in the fast bowling department for sure.”
With regards to the batsmen, especially those in the top order, Roach asked for patience.
“We don’t have a huge pool of batsmen in the Caribbean, so we have got to try and believe in these guys. They have the capabilities; we all know they do. It’s just about applying themselves and believing in themselves some more,” he said.
“I am totally behind them. We talk. As bowlers, we usually give them information about how best to handle situations from a bowling point of view. They work hard. One thing about this team is it’s a very hard-working team.
“It’s a lot of work being put in behind the scenes. I really feel for the batsmen because I know the work they do and it’s about time they get some returns so people can see it, but that time will come.”
In a match that lasted less than three days, the accomplishments of both players were overshadowed by the loss but were no less significant in the rich history of great performances by players from the West Indies.
The 34-year-old Roach had match figures of 1-71 and 5-47 during the match in which he picked up his 260th Test wicket and became the fifth most successful West Indies bowler behind Courtney Walsh (519), Curtly Ambrose (405) Malcolm Marshall (376) and Lance Gibbs (305).
His five-wicket haul in the second innings that helped bowl South Africa out for 116, was the 11th of his career that has so far lasted 76 matches since he made his debut against Bangladesh in July 2009.
Joshua Da Silva, meanwhile, playing in his 21st Test, joined now retired West Indies wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs in a pantheon of five ‘keepers who have had seven dismissals in one innings. Other than Jacobs, the only other players to have accomplished the feat were Pakistan’s Wasim Bari, England’s Bob Taylor, and New Zealand’s Ian Smith.
Both players will get the chance to add to their records when the second Test between the West Indies and South Africa bowls off on Thursday, March 8 at Wanderers. The West Indies will be hoping to produce a better performance with the bat and level the series that South Africa now leads 1-0.
The 24-year-old, right-arm fast-medium bowler will replace Romario Shepherd who has been withdrawn after he tested positive for the Covid-19 virus, according to sports broadcaster Andrew Mason.
Harding has played 17 First-Class matches during which he has taken 54 wickets at an average of 25.11. His best bowling performance came against Trinidad and Tobago in February 2020 when he took 10 wickets in the match with a best of 5 for 19 in TT’s second innings.
The loss of Shepherd, though, will be a major blow to the West Indies, who were already without a number of stars including Captain Jason Holder, Shimron Hetmyer, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Kieron Pollard, Shai Hope, Sheldon Cottrell and Nicholas Pooran for the tour set to take place between late January and February this year.
Shepherd scored a century and a 50 during the recent West Indies ‘A’ tour of New Zealand and was one of the shining lights in an otherwise disastrous tour. He also took two wickets in the unofficial two-Test series.
Pollard becomes part of the England set-up specifically as an assistant coach for the June tournament.
The 36-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago will provide expertise of Caribbean conditions with the competition being co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States.
Former Somerset all-rounder Pollard helped the West Indies win the T20 World Cup in 2012 and has played a record 600-plus matches in the format.
The ninth edition of the T20 World Cup will be held between June 4 and June 30 next year, with the final to be staged at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
England will defend the title they won for the second time in Australia 13 months ago in a tournament expanded from 16 to 20 teams.
In his first T20I as captain, King top-scored with 79 from 45 balls during the first international at Sabina Park in nearly two years.
The 29-year-old set the forthcoming T20 World Cup co-hosts on their way with a 79-run partnership with Kyle Mayers helping them to 109/1 after 10 overs.
However, they struggled to build on that momentum and were 66/7 thereon to finish on 175/8 with Ottneil Baartman and Andile Phehlukwayo both taking three wickets apiece.
South Africa were slow out of the blocks with Quinton de Kock failing to reach double figures as they were reduced to 35/3 in the fifth over, and required 99 runs to win at the halfway point in their innings.
Reeza Hendricks - the only visiting player to score more than 20 - put on an impressive late surge of 87 off 51 balls, but it proved academic with the Proteas bowled out for 147.
Data debrief
Becoming the 14th different player to captain West Indies in men's T20Is, King will have been pleased to start his reign against South Africa - the nation against whom he boasted his best T20I batting strike in the format (171.4).
He certainly continued in that vein, reaching 50 off just 26 balls for his fastest T20I half-century. It proved crucial as the hosts went on to record their biggest margin of victory over the Proteas when batting first.
After entering the batting line-up at six, with the team struggling at 4 for 60, King made a valuable 91 not out to guide the Windies to a 5 wicket win at Amstelveen.
The half-century was King’s second of the series, having scored 58 in the first match. Overall, in the last nine matches, King has averaged 41.57 and hopes to keep accumulating high scores.
“As cricketers when times are good you have to try and cash in and score as many runs as possible,” King said following the match.
“I feel good out there so I’m trying to capitalize on that good form,” he added.
Over the past several series, King has shifted places in the team’s batting line-up, batting at 5 against The Neverlands, 2 in the previous series against India, and 4 against Ireland. Despite having success down the order in the ongoing series, King believes that versatility is one of his strengths.”
“A part of my strength is adapting and doing what is needed for the team. I can bat anywhere in the top 6. This was a new role given to me but it’s not unfamiliar I am a middle-order batsman first and foremost.”
The 28-year-old batted through the West Indian innings to help them post a formidable 176-7 from their 20 overs on a St. George’s pitch that offered a lot to the bowlers.
“We found it a bit difficult to start. It’s a low and slow pitch. Not what we’re used to here, we usually get a good batting wicket, so, we had to assess very quickly,” said King in a post-match interview.
“We lost some early wickets so we had to try and decide how to go about it in a smart way,” he added.
Individually, King made 82* off 52 balls, his eighth fifty in T20 Internationals, hitting eight fours and five sixes. His first run of the innings was also his 1000th in T20Is.
“I think there’s always some level of luck involved as well,” King said about being able to bat through the innings on that pitch.
“I was the one that got the start in the powerplay. It was difficult for new batters to come in and get going, especially against the spinners. We lost some early wickets so, given that I got the start, I tried to take it as deep as possible,” he added.
The hosts lost the wickets of Kyle Mayers (17), Nicholas Pooran (5), Shai Hope (1) and Shimron Hetmyer (2) all within the first 10 overs of their innings before King and skipper Rovman Powell combined to put on 80 for the fifth wicket.
“Extremely crucial,” was how King described Powell’s innings of 50 from 28 balls including a 30-run 16th over off Sam Curran.
“A fantastic innings from him. He eased the pressure off me a little bit as well. Nobody has the power that he has. There are some shots only he can play so it was very important at that stage of the innings that he got those quick runs,” King added.
Powell’s heroics were needed after England’s spin duo of Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed accounted for the wickets of Pooran, Hope and Hetmyer.
“The spinners. You could see from early they were getting some purchase from the wicket with the new ball. Adil Rashid is obviously a very experienced bowler who knows how to bowl around the world. He bowled an excellent spell. It was important to us to not give him too many wickets and take the majority of the runs off the pace bowlers,” King said.
On the bowling side for the West Indies, King said his teammates did well to follow the game plan and use information from their own innings.
“Taking the information from the first innings, we knew what lengths were difficult. We went out and tried to apply that in the field. The guys fielded well as well so we’re very happy with that,” he said.
He also singled out Gudakesh Motie for conceding just nine runs in his spell.
“Excellent spell from him. To bowl four overs for nine runs in a T20 game is amazing. A good call from the skipper and the coach to bring him in for this game. Obviously, they read the pitch very well so he was crucial for us today,” he said.
The West indies will have a chance to clinch the series with on Saturday in the third T20I beginning at 12:30pm Jamaica Time (1:30pm ECT) at the same venue.
Chasing 222 for victory the West Indies reached their target in the 40th over. King scored an even 100 and Captain Shai Hope, an unbeaten 63 to secure their first win in the Super Six stage of the tournament.
With both teams already eliminated from contention from qualifying for the ICC World Cup in India later this year, the match was of academic interest.
However, the West Indies were looking to save face after losing to the Netherlands and Scotland in consecutive matches. After winning the toss, Hope asked Oman to take first strike.
The bulk of the scoring came from Suraj Kumar, whose unbeaten 53 and Shaoib Khan, an even 50, helped Oman to 221-9. Opener Kashyap Prajapati got 31 and Aayan Khan, 30, in the face of accurate bowling from Romario Shepherd who took 3-44 and Kyle Mayers 2-31 from seven overs.
Kevin Sinclair, who replaced the injured Yannic Cariah in the West Indies squad finished with 1-42.
With the West Indies looking for their first points of the Super Six stage, they Caribbean side lost Johnson Charles for four with only seven runs on the board.
However, Keacy Carty and King settled nerves with an 80-run second wicket partnership before the latter was run out for 29. From there the West Indies were cruising as King and Hope steered the West Indies to the brink of victory with a third-wicket partnership of 96 that was broken when King feathered a catch through to wicketkeeper Kumar off the bowling of Bilal Khan for 100.
His second ODI century came off 104 deliveries and included 15 sublime boundaries.
Hope and Nicholas Pooran scored the remaining runs without much bother with Hope scoring his 23rd ODI 50 along the way. Pooran was unbeaten on 19 at the end.
The West Indies will play their final match of their failed campaign against Sri Lanka on Friday. Sri Lanka has already qualified for the ICC World Cup.
The day started brilliantly for the West Indies as the opening pair of King and Charles put on 129 for the first wicket after West Indian captain Shai Hope won the toss and chose to bat first.
In the process, Charles brought up his fifth ODI half-century before being dismissed for a rapid 47-ball 63. The St. Lucian hit eight fours and three sixes in his knock.
King, who brought up a maiden ODI hundred on the way to a man of the match performance in the first encounter, continued his good form with 64 off 70 balls including four fours and as many sixes.
The tourists then got solid contributions from Odean Smith (37), Keacy Carty (32), Kavem Hodge (26) as they were eventually bowled out for 306 with one ball to spare.
Zahoor Khan led the way with the ball for the UAE with 3-44 from 9.5 overs while Aayan Khan (2-45), Ali Naseer (2-69) and Sanchit Sharma (2-69) also provided good contributions.
The UAE reply looked to be coming to an end quickly at 95-5 in the 24th over before a fighting 80-run partnership between Basil Hameed and Ali Naseer brought some respectability to proceedings.
Hameed batted valiantly, facing 84 balls before he fell for 49. He hit a boundary and three sixes in his knock.
Meanwhile, Naseer, who struck a fifty in the series opener, got his second straight half-century with a 53-ball 57 including six fours and three sixes.
Vriitya Aravind also contributed 36 and Aayan Khan 23* as the UAE eventually made 227-7 off their 50 overs.
Kavem Hodge (2-46 from 8) and Roston Chase (2-49 from 10) were the day’s best bowlers for the West Indies while debutant, Akeem Jordan, Odean Smith and Yannic Cariah were the other wicket-takers.
The 31-year-old pace bowler was bought for a sizeable INR 8.5 crore ($US1,156,239) during the IPL 2020 auction but failed to justify the price tag. In six matches, Cottrell bowled 20 overs, claiming 6 wickets for 176 runs at an expensive economy rate of 8.80. Unfortunately, perhaps the player's biggest moment came after being on the wrong side of thrashing from Rajasthan Royals Rahul Tewatia, who smashed 5 sixes off one of his overs during a record run chase.
Gayle, on the other hand, was sensational. Despite starting the season on the sidelines, the big left-hander became the driving force behind the team's push for a playoff spot, although it ended with the team narrowly missing out on 6th spot. The West Indian had been left on the bench for the first seven games of the season. He was not picked for the first five, and food poisoning ruled him out for the next two. He ended with 288 runs at an average of 44.14 and a high score of 99.
India batsman Karun Nair is also expected to be released but the team remains undecided on Australian Glenn Maxwell, who had a mediocre IPL season but had a splendid series against India.
The 32-years-old West Indies bowler does indeed face the threat of suspension after being reported for a suspect action during KKR’s victory over Kings XI Punjab last week. The spinner is allowed to continue bowling, for now, but another report to the Indian Premier League (IPL) would see Narine suspended until cleared by the BCCI Suspect Bowling Action Committee.
Narine had performed heroics for KKR after defending 14 runs off the final over, to help his team register a stunning 2 runs victory over KXIP. Despite that, however, Pietersen insists the bowler has not quite been at the same level since his last suspension. Narine was previously suspended in 2015 when he was ranked No. 2 on the ODI and T20 rankings. His action was reported as suspect in successive matches during the Champions League Twenty20. It resulted in his missing out on playing in the final for Kolkata Knight Riders, who lost to Chennai Super Kings.
“If I am honest, I am not so sure it (Sunil Narine absence) is a massive loss. Andre Russell is the guy you spend time talking about in team meetings. When he bowls, you are thinking about it. When he bats, you are thinking about it. It is the same when he is fielding,” Pietersen said on Star Sports.
“Sunil Narine has not been the same bowler for a few years now. He hasn’t had his best; he hasn’t had his real big spin. Coming to Sharjah, it is not something you are really worried about Sunil Narine. And then the bowlers have found him out in his batting. You bowl him short, he doesn’t like it,” Pietersen added.
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