Pooran said that West Indies team is used to such temperatures back home, and his summation following the side’s first training session was that conditions are “okay” for cricket.
“Coming from Netherlands, from the cold to heat [is not ideal],” Pooran told the media on Tuesday. “Today we had our first training session and it went really good. We trained at 4pm, and it was windy. For now, it’s okay. Hopefully it doesn’t affect us. Coming from the Caribbean, it is quite similar, so I think we’ll be alright.”
“The guys are coping well, the medical team is doing everything to keep us protected. You can’t see the future, but I don’t think the heat will be too much of a problem after what I saw this afternoon.”
Pooran isn’t too concerned about his own form coming into the series. He had a high score of 10 in three innings in the Netherlands even though there were four centuries and four fifties that came from his team-mates’ bats. He was out all three times to offspinner Aryan Dutt in that series, but despite that blip, Pooran still believes batting against spin remains one of his strongest suits.
“No, I’m fine, this is not the first time I haven’t scored runs,” Pooran said. “Have to check my stats, but I am always scoring runs.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed by my personal performance in the Netherlands. Some people may say that I should’ve scored runs in the Netherlands. But I believe I am a good player of spin and don’t think I have to overthink it too much. It’s just a matter of time, I need to get a start and then capitalise on it.”
Pooran also acknowledged that for West Indies, beating Pakistan in Pakistan is a challenge from the outset, but wants his team to accept it instead of fearing it. As for tangible goals for the Pakistan series, Pooran revealed two such plans: hold on to catches and consistently bat long as a team.
“Some world-class bowlers and batsmen here [for Pakistan], but I want the players to embrace the challenge. If we can take our catches, get some runs you never know what can happen, the game can turn in a couple of balls. We want to use our momentum [from Netherlands] and continue to be consistent as a team.
“Yes we are coming to Pakistan, yes they have good bowlers as well, but I believe we have the ability and confidence to bat the 50 overs. We appreciate the small goals and as a team we want to achieve it. One step at a time, and we’ll take it from there.”
Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @sreshthx
Source: ESPN Crickinfo