Roston Chase, Player of the match in West Indies’ clash against Papua New Guinea, believes that, going forward, the two-time champions will have to focus on significantly reducing their dot ball percentage, particularly in the middle-overs.
West Indies got over the line against PNG but they were reeling at 97/5 at one point, chasing 137. What got them there in the first place was the high dot ball percentage in the middle overs, which read a whopping 51.8%.
There, the hosts dug themselves out of a hole, but Chase believes that the Windies will need to be smarter with the bat, particularly on slow surfaces.
“I just think for us, it’s a case where we have to improve our dot ball percentage, especially in the middle overs,” Chase said ahead of the Uganda clash.
“I mean, the pitch is a difficult one that we played on in the first game. So, I think it’s a case where we just need to don’t panic too quickly. Just try to stabilize the middle overs, because we have a lot of power in the back end to kind of make up for it.
“So, it’s just a case where we just need to get a few singles more and ones into twos and stuff like that, and then just launch in the back end.”
Against PNG, West Indies had Chase to thank for. The right-hander, walking in at No.4, steadied the ship first before launching towards the end once Sherfane Rutherford got out.
The 32-year-old, who is striking at 152 this calendar year, believes that his T20 batting has definitely evolved.
“Yeah, well, my game was always one, I could always rotate the strike and turn over the strike in the middle overs. But I think my game has evolved where I have learned and I’ve been practicing to finish the game in the back end in terms of the power hitting and getting stronger and stuff.
“So, I think that’s what really helped my game to evolve. So that’s made me a better player, yes,” he said.
Being an anchor in the midst of big hitters, Chase is almost fulfilling the role Marlon Samuels played during the Windies’ triumph in both 2012 and 2016. The 32-year-old said that he is pleased to see the comparisons, but insisted that he is his own man and, at this point, has a specific ‘Roston Chase’ role that was discussed with the coaches well ahead of the competition.
“Yeah, I mean, there could only be one Marlon Samuels and one Roston Chase. I mean, if people want to call it the Marlon Samuels role, I have no problem with that. He’s won two world titles playing that role, and I mean, being the man of the match in two of the finals. So, I have no problem with that tag, but I’m my own player,” Chase said.
“I mean, I don’t see it as his role. I see it as my own role. The coaches, you know what I mean, sit down, and spoke to me about the role. And there was no mention of Marlon Samuels. But yeah, I don’t mind at all. Once I’m doing what is required of the team, I mean, for the team, and doing it well, I am happy with that.”
The Windies will enter the clash on June 8 (Saturday) as overwhelming favorites, but Chase made it clear that his side won’t be taking Uganda lightly. The all-rounder asserted that this is a World Cup where any team can beat any other team on a given day.
“Every team has come here to win. So, you can’t take any team lightly because even in the first game that we played, we were on the back foot a bit. So, it’s clear to see that any team can win on the day. So, you have to take every game very serious and go out there and play your best game every game,” Chase said.