Over to the one-dayers

I would like to start this week’s diary by congratulating South Africa for a well deserved 2-1 victory in the Test series against us. That does not mean that I – like all the other Windies players – was not bitterly disappointed to lose (especially after our 1-0 lead in Port Elizabeth). It’s just that I appreciate that they played better cricket and seized the majority of their chances. The manner in which the South Africans executed their game plan and took us out of the decisive match in Durban was an example of the consistency and level of professionalism that is needed to be among the top teams in international cricket.

After we lost the toss and were sent in to bat, it was always going to be a challenge to negotiate the lively pitch at Kingsmead. To make matters worse, South Africa bowled particularly well and we were dismissed very cheaply. Then, the pitch and conditions changed, batting became much easier and the opposition played us out of the deciding game with a massive first-innings score. It was always going to be a tough task to overhaul a deficit of more than 400 runs. As it was, we lost by an innings and 100 runs.

I managed the top score of 30 in our inadequate first innings of 139 and then 25 in the second time. It was again frustrating to get starts but not make a substantial impact.

I’m not seeking to make any excuses for how we performed but I’m compelled to say that the absence of our captain Chris Gayle (through injury), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (through illness in the second innings) and stand-in skipper Dwayne Bravo (through injury which prevented him from bowling) hampered us tremendously in the final Test. I believe it could have been a far different issue had we been at full strength.

Despite the circumstances, I know we have earned quite a bit of respect over here, both from the South African team and from the fans. The latter enjoyed the fact that we challenged the South Africans in the first two Tests and, to some extent, showed a similar fighting spirit in Durban.

Now, it’s back to the shortened version of the game with five one-day internationals following the second Twenty20 International on Friday. We have put the Test series behind us and are now focusing on the upcoming matches. We would love to win the second Twenty20 as – having triumphed in the first game in December – it would mean we clinch that series. It would be great to return home with some trophies.

I’m continuing to improve, and if given the opportunity to bat higher in the one-dayers, try and get some runs and post a big score for the team. I’ve been enjoying my time in South Africa. It’s a beautiful country and we have been well treated. Some of us tried paintball shooting earlier this week and had a blast. Now, it’s back to work on the field and we will be giving it our best shot as usual.