PERTH, Australia, CMC – West Indies coach David Williams denounced the WACA pitch yesterday after watching his bowlers toil on a wicket that had been projected to be a haven for pace.
Batting first after winning the toss, Australia closed on 339 for three and Williams said he was “disappointed” that the pitch was not as fast as they anticipated.
“After the first 20 minutes, we realized it was a very flat track. There was a lot of hype about it being a lot quicker and maybe assisting the fast bowlers a little bit more,” Williams said.
“That didn’t happen so we had to resort to the spin of Narsingh Deonarine and (Sulieman) Benn, who did a fairly good job,” he added.
Outside of a briefly fierce battle between young pacer Kemar Roach and the Australian captain Ricky Ponting, the Australians fended off the Caribbean side’s bowling attack and enter today’s second day in a sturdy position.
Roach’s second ball to Ponting, a short, 146kph delivery, crashed into the experienced batsman’s elbow and forced him to retire. Ponting refused to leave the field initially and batted on for 40 minutes before he eventually retired hurt on 23.
X-rays showed no fracture and Ponting is expected to bat later in the innings.
Williams admired the engaging battle but conceded that Ponting was not defeated, since he did not lose his wicket to Roach.
“We know for a fact that Ponting, not that he’s scared of Roach, respected Roach as a fast bowler who can also hit you in your head as well as hit your edge,” Williams said.
“It was a keen contest. Ricky I think got the better of him at the end. But at the end of the day it was good for cricket to see a fast bowler running in on a flat deck, bowling to the No.1 batsman in the world,” Williams said.
“(Roach was under) a little bit of pressure, coming in with all this hype and stuff. He probably bowled a little bit too short and maybe at times a little bit too full but he’s a young guy and he’s learning quickly,” Williams added.
Roach removed Shane Watson and finished with one for 67 off 13 overs.
Pacers Ravi Rampaul (0-38), Dwayne Bravo (0-56) and debutant Gavin Tonge (0-65) went wicket-less, while Deonarine (1-52) and Benn (1-61) were the other successful bowlers.
