Ottis Gibson expecting goods from West Indies top-order

West Indian head coach Ottis Gibson has backed his top-order batsmen, expecting them to fire in the final game after presenting a below-par effort in the opening two Tests against England.

Referring to Adrian Barath and Darren Bravo’s half-centuries against Leicestershire in the practice match, the head coach stated that the pair is in good form and just needs a good innings to get back to the best.

However, Gibson was worried over Kirk Edwards’ poor form with the bat, admitting that the vice-captain is yet to adjust to the English conditions.

"It’s tough for him. He’s beginning to get a little bit frustrated. Obviously again he just can’t get a start. In these conditions early on there are certain things you have to do as a top order batsman – watching the ball closely, playing the ball late
and stuff like that – and at the moment he can’t get a start and that’s his problem,” Gibson uttered.

He added, "He’s working very hard in the nets … but it’s all about performance and making runs at a crucial time. He’s done very well for us at number three since he’s come into Test cricket.”

"Just last year he got two Test centuries so obviously he can play but he’s just having a tough time at the minute and that’s what English conditions can do to you. It examines your technique and it challenges your technique and if your technique isn’t up
to it, those flaws will be exposed."

Darren Bravo came to the tour with a lot of expectations on his shoulders, but is yet to produce anything special, scoring only 75 runs in four innings.

The coach was delighted to see him scoring 66 runs against Leicestershire, but said that the left-hander needs to transfer his form to the big match.

"He’s been in good form. He hasn’t got the scores to show for it but he’s been in good form. He’s been hitting a lot of balls and hitting the ball very well in the nets," Gibson explained.

"It’s just transferring what you do in the nets into the middle and putting some scores together but he’s in a good place. He’s still enjoying his cricket even though he hasn’t got the runs to show for it. Hopefully Edgbaston will be another opportunity
for him to show the English fans his ability."

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Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on Jun 8 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry