The West Indies coach Stuart Law was taken by surprise after having a first look at the Barbados’ Bridgetown turf which according to him has assisted visiting side Pakistan before calling it a ‘Pakistani Pitch’.
“It wasn’t the sort of pitch we would have liked, I know that Pakistan were licking their lips when they saw it because it was a bit like a Pakistani pitch,” Law was quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
The disappointed 48-year-old Law expressed his dissatisfaction by saying there was enough for Pakistani bowlers on to offer than hosts inexperienced bowling line-up, who, eventually did well to rout the visitors by bundling them out for 81 in the second innings.
“If we can’t get a good coverage of grass in a tropical climate, there is something wrong. I wasn’t expecting what we turned up to see,” Law remarked.
While effusively praising his team for an all-round effort against Pakistan which was laced with quality batting line-up on the day five pitch of the second Test match.
“We’ve got boys who bowl 90 miles an hour, and to see the ball do that is heartbreaking, particularly on day two. Day two when we were bowling, bouncers were landing five metres short of the keeper. You expect it on day four, day five, no problem. Very proud of the effort,” Law added.
After registering a 106-run win on the day five to level the three-match series on one all, it was the fast bowler Shanon Gabriel who ripped apart the batting line-up of Pakistan by picking up five wickets in the second innings.
Praising the efforts of the bowler, Law calls it a sheer hard work of Gabriel, who is working on his fitness before turning to hit the right patches after struggling with multiple injuries early in his career.
“He [Gabriel] just improves every time he goes out there. Not [just] his effort on the field, that’s unquestionable, but behind the scenes, which people don’t see. He goes to lengths to see he’s right and in perfect physical condition every time he goes out on the field,” Law further added.
While giving his opinion over West Indies cricket, the Queensland-born Law stated there is no dearth of talent but the lack of experience in the squad.
However, according to the former Australian batsman, the improvement would take place among the players while playing the good amount of Test cricket in coming days.
“They’ve got the talent, that’s for sure. It’s one thing having talent, but when you couple that with experience, you become a formidable opponent,” Law concluded.
On May 10, the third and final Test (series decider) will be played at the Windsor Park in Dominica.