New Delhi, Mar 1 :West Indian pacer Kemar Roach,who registered the first hat-trick of the tournament, said the emphatic win over the Netherlands has given the side themuch-needed confidence after the beating it took at the hands of South Africa in their World Cup opener. Roach, who starred with a six-wicket haul including a hat-trick, the sixth in the history of World Cup, made a statement of intent yesterday when he said that West Indies is better than Bangladesh, the two-time champions' next opponent.
"We will take a lot of confidence from here to the next game. We will go forward from here. And we are better than Bangladesh," Roach said. The pacer also said that the team has the ability to repeat today's performance against stronger oppositions in the coming matches."We can definitely repeat today's performance," he said. Speaking about his exploits, he said, "When I got my fifth wicket, my captain told me that I can take a hat-trick, so I concentrated."Asked if he ever felt left out being the only pacer in the side, Roach responded in negative.
"No, there is no questing of being left out. (Suleiman) Benn (the left-arm orthodox spinner who opened the bowling for the West Indies) is a very good bowler, and I get more chance to express myself as the only fast bowler in the team. I have been picked to do a job," he said. "One of my goals is to bowl fast and most pacers want that. And when fast bowlers are bowling well, they take wickets of not just associate teams, but bigger opponents also," he said.
While he ducked a question on the Indian team's attack,Roach was happy talking about his side's bowling department. "We have a good attack and they are doing pretty well.It's tough bowling in the sub-continent, but that's our job." Riding on Roach's six for 27, West Indies bowled out the Netherlands for a meagre 115 after posting a mammoth 330 batting first and the pacer said the effort was, without a shadow of doubt, the most memorable moment of his career.
Asked about Dwayne Bravo's role in the team, he said, "He is like an elder brother, an inspiration. I spoke to him in the morning and he told me to just go and enjoy."
Bravo has been ruled out of the tournament after suffering a knee injury while bowling in the first match against South Africa. The Netherlands captain Peter Borren admitted that his side was outclassed but felt that they could have done a lot better.
"We have to be honest with ourselves. It is pretty disappointing. But we have got more potential than what we have showed. We have showed it in the past. Now we have got to forget tonight's performance and look forward to the upcoming games," Borren said last night. The Dutch captain said that the side needed to be more consistent."Inconsistency is very frustrating," he said.
Asked if they got carried away by the hype around their spirited display against England in the first match, Borren said, "No, we didn't get carried away. We had things to work on after the first match and now, we will have more things to work on." Borren admitted that the Dutch found Roach too hot to handle."He is a good bowler. We struggled against him and there are going to be other good bowlers we will be up against in the coming matches," Borren said. PTI
