Shakib hopes to continue good form for Jamaica

Jamaica Tallawahs all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is optimistic about improving on his form after scoring his first half-century of the 2016 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 season.

Al Hasan’s solid unbeaten knock of 54 off 47 balls, which included seven boundaries, laid the foundation for the Tallawahs’ five-wicket win over arch rivals and leaders Guyana Amazon Warriors at Sabina Park on Friday.

The smooth, yet dangerous left-hand batsman, widely regarded as the greatest-ever cricketer to play for Bangladesh, was involved in two crucial partnerships that revived the Jamaica franchise innings after they were left in a spot of bother at 2-4 during their chase of the Warriors’ score of 128-6.

His 43-run, fifth-wicket stand with Andre Russell, who made 24, and a well-constructed sixth-wicket partnership of 87 runs with Captain Chris Gayle, 49, orchestrated the win as they raced to 132-5 with 25 balls to spare, reports Jamaica Observer.

‘It is a good feeling; obviously the team winning is more important than my individual score, but it was a good contribution from me, so I am happy and hopefully I can continue producing more performances like this.

‘Winning is always good for the home crowd as well so that they can come in to the other games and support us all the way,’ Al Hasan told the Jamaica Observer in a post-match interview.

With their last few games being played on slow and low surfaces, Al Hasan welcomed the change of pace on the Sabina Park strip, which saw the ball skidding on to the bat, but also offering purchase to the seam bowlers.

‘Obviously it was a bit different than what we were used to for the last four games so we had to adjust, but I don’t think it’s a bad wicket when you are in. I think it’s a good wicket to bat on, but it is a bit difficult because the ball moves a bit, so if you spend time on this wicket then you could make a score.

‘So I always knew that if I stayed there for three or four overs, obviously the wicket will get easier for me to bat on and I knew that we just needed to bat 20 overs to get the runs.

So that was basically the mindset, while trying to remain positive, because once you get used to the pace of the pitch then you can play your shots,’ he explained.

Bowling his slow left-arm orthodox spin, Al Hasan also chipped in with the ball, taking one wicket for 20 runs from his two overs.

‘Obviously the dew factor was there; I would have loved to bowl with the dry ball. So obviously I need to improve because I would love to continue to bowl, and that is what I will be working on and looking to do from the next game,’ he ended.