Ramdin promises more runs

Denesh Ramdin admits his form with the bat in the Test series against New Zealand was not up to scratch but he is hoping to kick on from the quickfire unbeaten 28 he scored as West Indies drew first blood in the one-day series.

The West Indies one-day international vice-captain produced a match-winning 48-run stand with Ramnaresh Sarwan (67 not out) in the rain-affected match in Christchurch to hand the tourists a five-wicket win under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Ramdin's 28 took just 18 balls as he and Sarwan took to Kyle Mills, Jeetan Patel and Tim Southee in the final four overs to secure the 40 runs required with a ball to spare.

"There was a bit of pressure going into the one-day series knowing I didn't perform with the bat as I wanted to in the Test series," Ramdin admitted.

"I was determined to go out there and enjoy the moment. Batting with Sarwan gave me the confidence to go out there and execute.

"I was a bit disappointed with the way I'd batted on the tour so far, especially in the Test series."

The Trinidadian is considered one of the best wicketkeepers in world cricket, but his batting average hovers around 21 in both Tests and ODIs.

"I think I'm quite capable of getting a lot more runs than that," he added. "So hopefully I'll continue in the one-day series and win more games for us."

Denesh Ramdin cuts loose in his match-sealing 28 not out in the Christchurch one-day international

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Ramdin also believes the win has provided the whole team with a confidence boost and has given them the momentum heading into the third game in Wellington on Wednesday.

"The guys now believe that we are capable of doing it. Needing 40 runs in four overs, some teams may not get over the line.

"The first game was washed out and the Test series deadlocked, the Twenty20 series one-all, so going up 1-0 in the 50-over format is good for the entire team."

West Indies’ work in the field at AMI Stadium on Saturday was vastly improved from previous matches and with little to split the two teams, the 23-year-old wicketkeeper said another good fielding performance was crucial.

"In the Twenty20 games we put down a couple of catches that cost us the game. We're working on it and in the last game that was evident because we took a couple of catches that got rid of some of their key batsmen.

"Both teams have guys who are capable of hitting a lot of boundaries so if you get those players out in the first 15 overs and shut down the runs it will be good."

The Windies have also been wary of left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori on this tour and Ramdin felt it was important that the batsmen played positively against the New Zealand captain.

"There's no doubt Vettori is a world-class bowler. He's a competitor and he does his job for the team over and over again," Ramdin said.

"It's for us to go out there and play positively, put the ball in the gaps, run hard, pick out ones and twos and put them under some pressure."