The Antigua pitch is heavily in favour of batsmen, says http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sunil-Philip-Narine-c91869 – Cricket News Update
After toiling hard all day against the spirited http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 batsmen, Sunil Narine, the West Indian off-spinner, expressed that the pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua, is heavily in favour of the batsmen
and feels that the bowlers need to work extremely hard to make an impression.
The Black Caps won the toss and opted to bat first before scoring 232 runs by the close of play on day one of the first Test, for the loss of merely four wickets. The first day was dominated by the visitors, although http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 started
the series as clear favourites, having dismantled New Zealand in the shorter formats of the game earlier this month.
Narine, who was named as the Player of the Series in the five-match One Day International (ODI) competition, looked a little off-colour during the first day’s play, despite grabbing three of the four wickets that fell.
After a tough day, Narine expressed that the track is extremely flat, not offering any assistance to the bowlers. The 24-year-old cricketer believes that batsmen from both teams have a great chance of scoring huge runs, if they apply
themselves properly.
Having bowled 28 overs for his three victims, the off-spinner from Trinidad & Tobago has learnt that the only way to succeed in this Test is to bowl consistently on good length.
"It's a very good wicket to bat on," Narine said. "I think once you put down your head and but I don't think it's much of a problem. There's a little bounce and turn in the wicket but you still have to pitch the ball in the right
areas.”
To hamper the visitors’ progress, Narine picked up two wickets in the last six overs of the game, otherwise the situation could have been more in favour of the Black Caps. However, the youngster is optimistic that his batsmen will
also make things tough for the Kiwis.
"We're happy the way the day has finished. The way New Zealand started it could have been worse. So we'll take this and come out fighting tomorrow," he added.
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