Sarwan & Gayle Tour Diaries

Many people have been asking me if I am uncertain about not being fit to play in the opening game of the World Cup on March 13th against Pakistan in Jamaica.

I am not at all uncertain, I am confident that I will be ready. My thumb is much better than before. Although I have the chipped bone it has not stopped me from doing other fitness work such as running.

The first day of the third and final Test match against Pakistan at Karachi was a pretty good day for the West Indies. The pitch is horrendous for Test cricket because of the low bounce. It is the worst Test pitch I have ever seen so far in my career because the ball was almost rolling on the very first day of the Test match.

We still have to bat on it though and when our turn comes to bat we won't use that as an excuse. We still have to get the last three Pakistan wickets before our turn at the crease and even though most of our batters and especially the captain are in good nick it will be hard work. Myself and Daren [Ganga] have to adjust to these conditions and we have been having chats about how we are going to approach our partnership.

Both of us missed out on hundreds in the last game and Dwayne Bravo as well, but that's done and gone. It is a new leaf to turn to now. Once we can build partnerships and get a big first innings score on this wicket we can definitely set ourselves up for a victory in order to draw the series. I have to give big credit to the bowlers – Corey Collymore, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell and Bravo – they all bowled well on that low and slow wicket but they know what Test cricket is like.

I arrived in Pakistan with a stomach bug which I picked up just before the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. That put me out of action and practice for a couple of days. I haven’t really had a chance to do much fitness work but I will be ready for the first test starting on Saturday. I had a hit in the nets today (Friday) and I felt okay and I am looking forward to tomorrow.

Both Shiv (Chanderpaul) and Chris (Gayle) played well but Chris was particularly exceptional. Getting his 15th one-day hundred in our victory over South Africa in the semi-final at Jaipur was nothing less than a great achievement. He is the one who sets up games for us so it’s very important for him to continue doing this. It’s his hard work which is paying off for him and the team now. Chris has also matured from when he started and I think he is at the age when you really start to mature and start to work things out for yourself. I think that is what is happening now. It’s really good to see and I’m sure he is going to continue with that sort of form, taking it into the final and into Pakistan as well.

Since we had already made it to the semi-finals the game against England was an opportunity for the guys to get a hit first up batting-wise and to bowl with the wet ball in the dew conditions, as well to get a feel for that aspect of the game which has been crucial in this tournament so far. It was a pretty good wicket to bat on so we decided if we won the toss we’ll bat first and get a big total on the board.

Ramnaresh Sarwan

As you would probably expect I am very happy that we won the game against India last night, and that now propels us into the semi-finals even though we have one more game to play. The victory was not achieved in the sort of way we would have wanted it, though. We were in a very commanding position and we had another mini-collapse towards the end but recovered just in time to get across the finish line.

This is something which we will continue to pay attention to and try to solve it as quickly as we can. We cannot afford for it to happen as frequently as it has been happening, especially with so many talented players in this team.