West Indies spirits high despite heavy defeat: Roach

Port-of-Spain (Trinidad), June 15 (IANS/CMC) Fast bowler Kemar Roach says the heavy loss to New Zealand in the first Test has not disrupted the mood in the West Indies camp.

The Caribbean side suffered a 186-run loss to the Black Caps inside four days at Sabina Park on Wednesday, to fall behind 0-1 in the three-match series, reports CMC.

"The [mood in the] camp is good, the atmosphere is good. The guys are happy and chirpy and stuff," Roach said Saturday.

"But we know what happened in Jamaica, we're 1-0 down and we're behind the eight ball so we have to go out there and look to win this Test match otherwise we lose the series.

"The guys are working hard, getting their minds right, and I don't see any reason why we can't win this Test match in Trinidad.a

West Indies watched as New Zealand piled up 508 for seven declared in their first innings on a flat track in Kingston, but then twice batted poorly and succumbed to an embarrassing defeat.

Roach, in his first Test in nearly a year following a shoulder injury which required surgery last December, went wicket-less in the first innings, but picked up two wickets for 12 runs off 12 overs in the second innings.

The Barbadian admitted that the match had been a difficult one for him.

"Jamaica was a tough Test match. It was my first Test back after injury. The wicket wasn't really good for fast bowling so you had to work really hard on it," Roach explained.

"It was best to keep line and length on it and pitch up to the batsman as much as possible. I think the bowlers did pretty well. We didn't get the wickets we wanted but we created chances."

He added: "The first morning I was a bit nervous. I had a shoulder injury and it was my bowling shoulder so I was a bit tentative at first but then I realised it felt perfect a but the first hour back in Test cricket was difficult for me but I came out on top."

West Indies face New Zealand in the second Test, starting here at Queen's Park Oval Monday, and Roach said he was looking forward to the outing.

In his last Test at the venue, Roach finished with a 10-wicket match haul to take Man-of-the-Match honours in a drawn match against Australia.

"Coming to Trinidad now, the last Test I played here I performed pretty well against Australia so I'm looking to better that performance or even top it. I'm just going to go out there put in my best and give it a good shot," said Roach.

"In Trinidad, the wicket has gotten better over the years so it's better for fast bowling. So you've just got to go out there and put the work in, bowl some strong balls in good areas, the batsmen will make mistakes and you will get the wickets."

--IANS/CMC

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