Du Plessis wants improvement from batsmen

Jul 11, 2016 Sports

By Zaheer Mohamed
St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots captain Faf Du Plassis is calling for an improvement from his batsmen following their loss to the Guyana Amazon Warriors by seven wickets at the Guyana National Stadium in the Hero CPL on Saturday.

Patriots skipper Faf Du Plessis (left) wants his batsmen to get among the runs.

Speaking at the post match conference Du Plessis said there batting has not been as good as they would have wanted but he hopes they can improve. “We have got a really strong batting line up on paper, but we are not putting the runs as we would like to,” he added.
He stated that his team is fine one but they players must play to their potential to win games.
“There are some very good cricketers in there and those guys, including myself, need to put their hands up come to the party. Our bowling in general has been good but in four of out the five matches we haven’t batted to our potential, the one game we batted well we scored 200 plus so we have shown what we are capable of,” the skipper lamented.
He explained that their mindset was defensive against the Warriors.
“I think our mind set was very defensive, if you look at the opposition they came out nice and positive, they put the spinners under pressure and that where we got it wrong so we got to try and fix it. As you look at their team they have won four games in a row, so we still in with a shot but we are not playing the best cricket and if you don’t do that then you can’t expect to win games.”
Du Plessis pointed out that changing mentally is important going further into the tournament. “I see every game that we play now is a must win because we put ourselves in a situation where we need to do that.”
He stated that he is looking forward to their next game against Barbados Tridents. “Obviously the conditions there would change so we have to look what’s the best combination. We expect a lot more bounce there so we can perhaps play one or two more quicks, and Carlos Brathwaite is coming back which is nice. So one or two changes but I think the main thing is to make that mental switch where we just need to be better,” he explained.
Despite the loss there was still some positive from the game. “We have been playing like 60% but we fought right to the end, there is no fault in that and that’s one great thing we have.”
Meanwhile, Warriors skipper Martin Guptill expressed delight with the victory. “I am delighted about our performance, we were expecting a tough game but our bowlers came out and put them under early pressure and that’s the key in T20,” he posited.
Guptill stated that Chris Lynn is an extremely good striker of the ball. “We have seen that through the Big Bash, he has come here with some form,” the skipper related.
He explained that there is always room for improvement “The feeling in the camp is good. There are always things to improve on. I am looking to get a good opening stand with Smith and keep the confidence,” he said, adding that he is please with their field so far.