BRIDGETOWN: Struggling West Indies, which trails 0-3 in its five-match ODI series against Pakistan, has recalled batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan for the fourth ODI. Sarwan, 30, will replace Devon Smith in the 13-man squad, the West Indies Cricket Board said in a statement Saturday. Sarwan, along with Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, had initially been dropped for the series as part of a policy by West Indies to encourage the development of younger players. The move came after widespread disappointment with the performances by senior players during the recent World Cup, where West Indies again failed to impress. However it was viewed by many critics as a risky ploy with the experienced trio – all three of them former captains – making up the bulk of the Caribbean runmaking in the past five years. Sarwan, who has scored four centuries and 35 fifties in 166 ODIs, returns to favor after West Indies lost the series to Pakistan when it was beaten by three wickets in the third ODI at Kensington Oval Thursday. The fourth ODI will take place at the same venue Monday with the fifth ODI to be played at Guyana National Stadium in Providence, Guyana Thursday. Meanwhile, Pakistan will look to stay on track for a series sweep. Pakistan has simply allowed West Indies first strike in each match, and used its spin bowling triumvirate of Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez and captain Shahid Afridi to tie down the home team batsmen for low totals before undertaking relatively easy chases. This formula almost backfired on the Pakistanis in the previous match, leading Afridi to warn his side that they need to avoid complacency in the remaining matches. Chasing a modest 172 for victory from a rain-reduced allocation of 45 overs, the visitors were left reeling on 49 for four, following a new-ball blitz from Ravi Rampaul, and the visitors required a steady, unbeaten 62 from Misbahul Haq to complete the job, after leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo threatened to wreak late havoc. “There are still some problems with out batting, and I'm sure the management and coaches will come at us hard in the meetings,” said Afridi. “The way the boys delivered in the series was good, but the batsmen need to spend some time in the middle. We all know we made mistakes.” West Indies captain Darren Sammy admitted that his side has a serious problem, and hoped they could turn things around in the remaining matches, particularly ahead of the two Tests that follow the ODI series. “We as a batting unit, myself included, have to take more responsibility like Bishoo does with the ball,” he said. “It's about getting the formula right. We have had good starts, but we haven't capitalised on them. “The way forward is to gain experience. This group is not short on talent, we need to play and get more consistency.” Pakistan has now won its last eight ODIs against West Indies spread over the last four years. Teams: West Indies (from): Darren Sammy (captain), Dwayne Bravo, Carlton Baugh Jr, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Kirk Edwards, Anthony Martin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons Pakistan (from): Shahid Afridi (captain), Misbahul Haq, Abdur Rehman, Ahmed Shahzad, Asad Shafiq, Hammad Azman, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Salman, Sadaf Hussain, Saeed Ajmal, Tanveer Ahmed, Taufeeq Umar, Umar Akmal, Usman Salahuddin, Wahab Riaz.
