Barbados cricketer Shamarh Brooks says he’s satisfied with his performance despite missing out on a century in his One Day-International (ODI) debut for West Indies on January 8.
The West Indies had a 24-run victory against Ireland at Sabina Park.
Brooks who was named Player of the Match admitted he could have played differently, the ball that got him out at 93 after 89 deliveries.
After being dropped on 92 at the start of the 45th over in the opening match of the CG Insurance ODI Series, Brooks perished lbw to medium pacer Mark Adair in the 36th over.
In a post-match interview, Brooks said in hindsight he probably should have stayed on the front foot.
“There was a big space or a big gap on the leg side with the field that the bowler had set, so that’s the only real change I would make, instead of going back on the back foot, pressing forward on the front foot,” the cricketer added.
The Barbadian said, “at the end of the day, it was my first game, and I am still happy with the score that I got. Unfortunately, I didn’t get those three figures. I wouldn’t say I panicked in the nervous 90s.”
“Some people would probably end up being a little too cautious after being set, but as we all know, it’s a learning curve at this level, and I’ll take this one on the chin and look to go from strength to strength,” added the elegant right-hander.
Shamarh Brooks hit nine stylish fours and three equally polished sixes on his way to his 93.
The 33-year-old who made his Test debut for West Indies in 2019 and began his limited-overs career with last month’s Twenty20 International (T20I) series against Pakistan, said his role in white-ball cricket is to “rotate the strike in terms of the middle overs”.
“We’ve always produced guys who can hit the ball over the rope, so for me, it’s just to really come in and play my part in the middle overs – especially in a situation like [Saturday] where we lost early wickets – and get the innings going again, then continue with a flurry at the back end,” he added.
Shamarh Brooks’ brilliant batting display which featured in a record century stand with captain Kieron Pollard, helped West Indies win against Ireland in the first of three ODIs.
The January 11 game has been postponed due to COVID-19 positive cases in the Ireland camp, with a second game scheduled for January 14. The teams are also scheduled to play a T20I on January 16 at the same venue.
/CMC
