Kemar Roach, West Indies fast bowler reflected on his match-winning knock against Pakistan by saying it was by far the most important innings of his career.
Chasing a target of 168 runs, West Indies suffered some serious setbacks as they were reduced to 114/7 at one point. The partnerships that Kemar Roach built, initially with Joshua Da Silva and later on with Jayden Seales, were crucial in getting West Indies home with just a solitary wicket to spare.
Kemar Roach’s 30 Was His Best Innings With The Bat, Feels The Pacer After West Indies Scrapes Through Winning By 1 Wicket
Speaking to the broadcaster after the match, Kemar Roach admitted that he had never been in a similar situation before. After taking a five-for in the morning, No. 11 Jayden Seales hung around for his partner Kemar Roach to hit the winning runs
“By far. By far (the best innings with the bat). I have never been in a situation like that before. Batting with the tail, I am a part of the tail. For me, just go out there and believe, that was the biggest thing. Believe, stay positive,” Roach said.
The pacer added that the key was to focus on one ball at a time and not think ahead.
“Bat each ball at a time. Our batting coach says, “Monty, one ball battles”. Just take on one ball at a time. At the end of the day, it came off and we won the Test match.”
West Indies were set 168 to win. But they ended up battered and bruised and barely standing as Pakistan, and especially Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali, went all guns blazing. Kemar Roach’s strength of will translated into 30 unbeaten, match-winning runs.
His experience shepherded the 19-year old Jayden Seales, who had already announced that he was ready for the big stage by picking up 5 for 55, through a last-wicket partnership that just wouldn’t be broken, even across four high-pressure overs.
Kemar Roach Advised Jayden Seales To Protect His Wicket
Kemar Roach hit Hasan Ali through the covers to seal the victory for the West Indies and remained not out on 30. When young fast bowler Jayden Seales walked in as the No. 11 batsman for the West Indies, they were still 17 runs away from the target. Kemar Roach revealed that the only advice to his young partner at the other end was to protect his stumps.
“I just told him that, protect your stumps. Obviously, on that wicket, the biggest threat is the ball straight. So I just told him to protect the wicket as best as he could. If you get nicked off, if you get caught, that’s fine. Just protect your wickets. He did it very well.”
The 33-year-old, who is the leader of the fast-bowling pack, is impressed with Jayden Seales, whom he believes is one for the future. West Indies pacer Jayden Seales was earlier reprimanded for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan in Sabina Park.
“He showed great fight. He is a star for the future. He has a good heart. He is very calm under pressure. I am proud of him as well,” Roach signed off.
Jayden Seales became the youngest West Indian to take a five-wicket haul in Test matches earlier in the match. He was declared the Player of the Match for his match figures of 8/125. With the victory, West Indies have gone 1-0 up in the two-match series.
West Indies’ Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite‘s 97 off 221 deliveries was the highest individual score across all four innings of an extremely tight game.
West Indies 253 (Brathwaite 97, Holder 58, Afridi 4-59) and 168 for 9 (Blackwood 55, Roach 30*, Afridi 4-50) beat Pakistan 217 (Fawad 56, Holder 3-26, Seales 3-70) and 203 (Azam 55, Seales 5-55, Roach 3-30) by one wicket