Windies pacer Rampaul likes idea off two new balls in ODIs

Fatullah (Bangladesh): West Indies started their tour of Bangladesh on a winning note with a comfortable 65-run victory over the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium.

Fast bowler Ravi Rampaul was the match-winner with the impressive figures of 9-2-23-4 to slice through the home team’s batting as they fell for 152 off 41 overs in front a holiday crowd of over 7,000 spectators. Earlier in the match Rampaul smashed 15 not out off 11 balls, including a big six off the last ball, as the West Indies reached 217-9 off their allotted 45 overs to get meaningful work-out ahead of the upcoming series against Bangladesh. The match was played under the new International Cricket Council’s one-day rules – two new balls being used – one from each end. Speaking after the match, Rampaul said he was quite happy with the change in the playing conditions, which he hopes will favour the faster bowlers. “Playing with two new balls, it keeps the ball a lot newer, so from where I stand it is probably a good thing for the bowlers but not the batters,” he said with a smile. “The two new balls might rule out the chance of plenty reverse swing later in the innings, but you will have a harder ball to bowl later on in the innings. One has to be patient enough, hit the right line and length, and there will be rewards.” Rampaul’s first spell was 4-2-5-0. During his second spell he used the short-pitched ball as a surprise weapon on a pitch that offered good pace and bounce. “Today when I came back for my second spell the ball was still quite hard and I was able to run in at the batsmen. The ball was sliding off the pitch and it was bouncing and that was good to see. “The pitch was good for bowling and I tried to be aggressive. We know that the Bangladeshi batsmen don’t handle the short ball all that well so I used it as a surprise and it worked,” said Rampaul. ANI