Who is popular today?

WEST Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales believes a strong showing in the upcoming ODI series against Pakistan is crucial, not only to record a winning start in the opening tie on August 8, but to keep the team on course for automatic 2027 Cricket World Cup qualification.
The three-match series bowls off at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba from 2 pm.
Coming off a tough 2-1 T20 home series loss to Pakistan on August 3, which followed a 5-0 T20 drubbing against Australia last month, the West Indies are looking to turn things around.
For Seales, 23, and his teammates, the stakes are high.
“(We) just take every series as it comes, step by step. We know what is at stake, we know the teams that we have to play, we know how many series we need to win or how many games we need to win to not be in that situation again,” Seales said on August 6, ahead of the team’s first training session at the south Trinidad venue.
“And it’s important for us as a team to get into the World Cup without going through the qualifiers and be embarrassed, so to speak, again. So we’re trying our best, we're playing our best cricket that we can and we're working our best to get to that stage.”
West Indies did not participate in the 2023 ODI World Cup after failing to make it through the qualifiers.
Reflecting on the team’s mentality after recent defeats, Seales said there’s still a strong sense of belief within the camp.
“We're confident. We think we could bounce back from it. We know where we went wrong. And it's just about putting all our skills into practice here today and then looking forward to the series starting come Friday.”
“It's just about getting our tactics right and just training with a purpose, keeping our intensities high in training and work on the things that we fell short in the past games and just get better as we go along.”
As a new-ball bowler, Seales said his job is to get wickets at the top, even if he concedes six runs per over. On the batting front, the Windies quick stressed the importance of calculated aggression in the early stages of the innings.
“It's about being smart. We know how the power play goes, two fielders outside the 30-yard circle, so they'll take calculated risk, as expected. That's the role of the opening batsman in the power play. And then we play it by ear, we play the situation as it comes along. We rotate strike when we can, put away the bad balls, just play basic cricket.”
A win in the opener could reignite belief within the squad and serve as a stepping stone toward bigger goals, Seales said.
“It’s important for the team to do well, coming off consecutive series losses against Pakistan and Australia. A win is what we really need to give us back that confidence, to boost the team morale and everything.”
Seales wants a solid personal performance in front of his home crowd at Tarouba.
“For me, personally, it would be good to do well in front of the home crowd, playing in a day-night match against Pakistan is a crucial series for us in terms of points. But my own performance is not really what matters, it's about the team doing well. And if I could do well for the team and help us to win, then I'm very pleased.”
When asked about his personal targets for the series, Seales kept it team-first.
“Honestly, no, I don't set personal goals coming into the series. It's about playing my best cricket, putting my best foot forward for the team at all times and whatever the outcome is at the end of the series, I'll be very happy with.”
Despite Pakistan’s strength, Seales backs the West Indies to come out on top.
“I'm pretty confident and we have a good bunch of boys. (Our) 50-over team has been doing well barring that one series in England (away) where we lost. But I think we've been building well, we're understanding our roles a lot better and we're playing together as a team.”
Also on August 6, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced the maroon squad for the ODI series, which saw Jamaican opener Brandon King and TT top-order batsman Evin Lewis recalled to the team after missing the just concluded T20 series owing to injury.
WI Team for ODI series vs Pakistan
Shai Hope (captain), Jewel Andrew, Jediah Blades, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Amir Jangoo, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd.
The post Seales: WI need win to boost morale appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.