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Yesterday

West Indies assistant coach (bowling) James Franklin said the prolonged rain delay and subsequent sluggish field conditions were no excuse for the regional team’s five-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in the first of three one-day internationals (ODIs) at the Pallekele International Stadium on October 20.

After being reduced to 100 for four by Sri Lanka’s wily spinners, the Windies progressed to 185 for four thanks to an unbeaten fifth-wicket partnership between Sherfane Rutherford (74 off 82) and Roston Chase (33 off 33). With West Indies eyeing a big total after their recovery from the mediocre order, rain intervened and put an end to the regional team’s plans in the 39th over.

With Sri Lanka having set a revised target of 232 in 37 overs via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method at 6.27 runs per over, Franklin felt that West Indies were certainly in trouble.

The Windies made early progress in the eight-over power play as the hosts fell to 45 for three, but they were undone by an impressive 137-run partnership between captain Charith Asalanka (77 off 71) and debutant Nishan Madushka (69 off 54 ). ). Both men were dismissed in quick succession by the Guyanese left-arm spinner (three for 47), but the hard work was already done as the Lankans came home with more than five overs to lead 1-0.

Franklin said the conditions were challenging as the ball became slippery, but he said West Indies need to show their adaptability.

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“We can’t use the conditions as an excuse. We play a lot of games around the world in weather-dependent games and you have to find ways to deal with it and stay in the game and find a way to perform,” Franklin said. Cricket West Indies media on October 21.

“Although the circumstances may have changed in that respect, we are certainly not going to use that as an excuse as to why we lost that match.”

In spin-friendly conditions, West Indies were dismissed for a paltry 89 in the second T20 as Sri Lanka eventually secured a 2-1 victory in the comeback series. Chase and T20 captain Rovman Powell met the conditions, with coach Daren Sammy following suit at the end of the T20 series.

Heading into the ODI series, Franklin said Sri Lanka’s spin threat was no secret, and it is imperative for the team to make the right adjustments and get their game plan to a T for the remaining matches.

“We are 1-0 down in this three-match series and we now have a few days to reflect and work on where our improvements lie for the next match in Kandy,” Franklin said. ‘We know what surface we are going to get. It will be a similar surface again.

“I think from a batting point of view we have to show good intentions with these Sri Lankan spinners. They are high quality spinners. In this part of the world, a good batting strategy or method against spin bowling will go a long way end. It’s about being confident in our method, executing it on the day and putting pressure on Sri Lanka with both bat and ball.”

Franklin said there is also room for improvement with the ball, especially with the inconsistent lengths being bowled.

With the team’s previous ODI series being a 3-0 defeat to Australia in February, Franklin said the work to create building blocks continues as they look to improve on their 10th-place finish.

“We are on a journey as an ODI team. We know we have to keep improving… we come here to Sri Lanka and they have always been good at home – they are hard to beat at home.” conditions.”

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Despite losing in the first ODI, Franklin said West Indies were very much into the series as he felt they took control at certain stages of the match.

“We just need to take control for longer periods. Fifty overs is a much longer game than T20 and it’s been a while since we’ve played ODIs as a group.”

The second ODI will start in Pallekele on October 23.