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Drop Pollard for final ODI, urges legend Waqar

Tue, Oct 4, '16

SHARJAHLegendary Pakistan fast bowler, Waqar Younis, believes Kieron Pollard is hurting West Indies team morale with his lackadaisical approach and should be axed for tomorrows final One-Day International against Pakistan.

Speaking in his role as a television analyst following the second ODI on Sunday, Waqar said big-hitting all-rounder did not even try as the Caribbean side slid to a 59-run defeat in pursuit of an imposing 338 for victory at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Pollard entered in the 38th over with West Indies on 194 for four and facing a required run rate of nearly 12 an over but displayed little aggressive intent.

His approach and the way he played in this game and in any of the T20 games, youre destroying the morale of the team, said Waqar, the second highest wicket-taker in Pakistan Test history with 373 scalps from 87 games.

The way he battedhe went in with 11 and over or about 12 an over required and he is known for this sort of situation. And he just went in and he hit one boundary and batted the entire time and not going anywhere.

He wasnt there, he was not in the middle so I feel he needs a break. Whoever you want to bring in, Pollard needs a break. Thats how I feel.

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Mon, Oct 3, '16

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates, (CMC) Former Pakistan speedster, Waqar Younis, believes the dramatic sacking of West In

dies Head Coach Phil Simmons on the eve of the ongoing tour, has had a negative impact on the Caribbean sides performance.

West Indies looked a shadow of themselves in the Twenty20 International series and were stunned 3-0 by Pakistan, and also suffered a heavy 111-run defeat in the opening One-Day International of the three-match series here last Friday.

And Waqar, who took 373 wickets in 87 Tests,said the uncharacteristically poor showing, especially in the T20s, was a sign that Simmons axing, and that of inspirational Captain Darren Sammy, had left the side in disarray.

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Mon, Oct 3, '16

Dwayne Bravo said on Saturday that the current players representing the West Indies against Pakistan is a lost group with many believing that windball cricket is better organised than what they are experiencing with the Caribbean team in Dubai.

I was there in Dubai and basically the players were lost, the management team was lost, everything just looked like we were school kids again, and the team meetings had no sort of positive inputs or anything like that. It was like we were just there, an obviously hurt Bravo stated.

Bravo said that while individually the West Indies players were always motivated, the events leading up to the team leaving the Caribbean disturbed the entire momentum of the squad.

The honest truth is that it is very difficult for a bunch of 15 guys to really switch on when they are leaving for a series and the day of the team travelling they find out that their head coach (Phil Simmons) was fired. Like which organisation in the world would do things like that? This was a coach that had the support of the entire team and one of the best coaches we have had and he has done so much in a short period. Everyone knows that, and we were making positives, stated Bravo.

read more at Trinidad Guardian

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Sun, Oct 2, '16

SHARJAH: Fast-rising Babar Azam cracked a second successive hundred to guide Pakistan to a dominant 59-run win over the West Indies in the second one-day international in Sharjah, gaining an unbeatable 2-0 lead in three-match series.

Azam's brilliant 126-ball 123 formed the cornerstone of Pakistan's imposing 337-5 which also featured half-centuries from Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed.

West Indies finished on 278-7 from their 50 overs with Darren Bravo hitting 61 and Marlon Samuels scoring 57.

The final match will be in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

It was a wonderful team effort, said Pakistan captain Azhar Ali.

We needed a good partnership after losing two early wickets and Azam and Malik gave that to us with pace and wisdom.West Indian captain Jason Holder rued his team's bad bowling.

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Fri, Sep 30, '16

SHARJAH: Babar Azam hit his maiden century while spinner Mohammad Nawaz grabbed four wickets as Pakistan thrashed the West Indies by 111 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method in the first day-night international on Friday.

Azam's rapid-fire 139-ball 120 helped Pakistan post a challenging 284-9 in a match reduced to 49 overs a side due to a 70-minute floodlight failure at Sharjah Stadium in the UAE.

West Indies set 287 to win never got close and folded at 175 in 38.4 overs.

The victory gives Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, building on their 3-0 whitewash in the Twenty20 series.

Like in the Twenty20 matches, the West Indian batsmen had little clue against Pakistan's spin bowling, with only Marlon Samuels (46) and Johnson Charles (20) offering any resistance.

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