West wants HPC to raise their game for T20 series

DHAKA, Bangladesh, CMC – Coach of the High Performance Centre team, Graeme West, says his players will have to raise their standard of play another notch when they take on Bangladesh A in a two match Twenty/20 series.

Graeme’s appeal for a higher quality of play comes on the heels of HPC’s demoralizing nine-wicket defeat in the third One-day match against Bangladesh-A.

HPC is expected to face a stronger opposition since the host is also planning to include a few of their players that just returned from the ICC World Twenty20 Tournament taking place in Sri Lanka.

Graeme West

“We have to put [Tuesday’s] experience quickly behind us, and they will be looking to strengthen their side,” said West.
“I am confident they (HPC) will do well in the last two matches on the tour.”

The two sides will contest the two-match Twenty20 series today and tomorrow before the HPC team leave for home on Saturday.
West said his side will try to recover from the defeat in which no HPC batsman reached 20 when they were bowled out for 54 in 18 overs.

“We got off to the worst possible start when Andre Fletcher was run out from the first legal delivery of the match and we went downhill from there,” West said.

“We had a number of similar dismissals—bowled and lbw—and there was nothing untoward in the pitch, we just have to put it down to ‘one bad day at the office.”

The Sagicor HPC team made four changes, bringing in Fletcher, fellow opener Trevon Griffith, Kjorn Ottley and Jason Dawes for Jermaine Blackwood, Marlon Barclay, Kyle Hope and Sheldon Cotterrell.

“We gave a few of the guys that have not had much batting on the tour an opportunity in this match,” said West. “Unfortunately, they did not take their opportunities”.

The HPC team won the One-Day series 2–1.