Despite a 17-run win that sealed their top position in the group, all-rounder Shane Watson rued dropping explosive opener Chris Gayle, according to the International Cricket Council.
Australia clinched a rain-affected group encounter after openers David Warner and Watson got them off to a flying start but the latter was disappointed at dropping Gayle that enabled West Indies to post a huge total.
However, the man-of-the-match had the final laugh as he dismissed Gayle before padding up and hitting an unbeaten 41 off just 24 deliveries.
“No doubt I was feeling that pain until I was able to get him [Gayle] out,” said Watson. “In the meantime, he had done a fair bit of damage and given a lot of momentum to the West Indies side. That was very disappointing.”
Watson himself benefitted from a dropped catch at 28, and agreed that it was lucky for him as he ended up with an unbeaten 41 off 24 deliveries.
“That certainly helped. Dwayne Smith is a very good fielder. As soon as I spotted exactly who it was, I was just about 100 per cent confident he was going to catch it but I also knew I had hit it right out of the middle, so it was going to take quite some catching.”
While Watson admitted his side was unable to execute the plan in the bowling department, the all-rounder was pleased with the batsmen’s show.
“From a bowling perspective, we definitely need to improve. We need to be able to try and limit these guys who have a lot of quality batting-wise.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 24th, 2012.
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