Rampaul: 'Our faster bowlers need to be a little more consistent'

West Indies' bowling coach felt the quicks had not done enough to dry up the runs on a day when Pakistan went at above four an over

A lack of consistency has hurt West Indies' bowlers, particularly their quicks, during the second Test against Pakistan in Port of Spain. This was the view of West Indies bowling coach Ravi Rampaul after the second day's play, which ended with Pakistan 266 for 2 and trailing the hosts' first-innings total by 78 runs.

Rampaul felt the pitch, on which West Indies were bowled out for 344 after opting to bat first, had become better to bat on on day two.RelatedPakistan set to bring in Michael Smith as batting coach

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"On the pitch, we saw that it's probably gotten a little better, a little flatter, there was less there for the faster bowlers," Rampaul said. "There was still some assistance for the spinners, but overall, as a bowling group, our inconsistency again stepped into play.

"When we started with the ball, it wasn't as consistent as possible, and when we came back again, trying to pull back that run rate, you saw how hard it was on that track."

Over 66 overs so far, Pakistan have scored at a run rate of 4.03, a significantly faster clip than the 3.25 that West Indies managed in their first innings.

"Definitely our consistency as a bowling group needs to be better," Rampaul said. "In these conditions, when nothing is happening with the pitch or even with the ball, consistency helps bring wickets.

"I think we need to do that and give our spinners more time to attack. Basically our faster bowlers need to be a little more consistent, try to dry up the runs, and let our spinners come into play."

An unbroken 168-run stand between Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam was at the heart of Pakistan's batting performance on day two, and Rampaul felt the duo had made things difficult for West Indies' bowlers.

"I think they batted well in the conditions. Our good balls they defended well, and when they got the bad balls they put it away, and they ran really well between the wickets. They haven't let our bowlers settle, and that's how they built that big partnership."

Rampaul, a Trinidadian who played a lot of his cricket at Queen's Park Oval, felt there could be more assistance for spin as the match wears on.

"Based on what I saw yesterday, I think it had gotten a little better for batting today. On past experience, it should get a little more deterioration to help the slower bowlers a little bit more. Hopefully. I'm hoping that happens so that our spinners can get more purchase from the conditions."