Mendis projects batting revamp for Oman

Coach Duleep Mendis has said he is satisfied that Oman were able to secure promotion with a top-two finish at WCL Division Five in Jersey, but has admitted that his side’s batting struggles are a major concern. Speaking prior to the team’s departure from Jersey back to Oman, Mendis told ESPNcricinfo that he expects several new players to come into the Oman squad for WCL Division Four to be held in the USA later this year.

“The bowlers did extremely well right through the tour from the first game onwards, the seam bowlers as well as spin,” Mendis said. “The batsmen didn’t click; other than one or two batsmen, others never got off. That is one of our main concerns when we get back.”

Opening batsman Zeeshan Maqsood finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with 350 runs at an average of 70. His opening partner Khawar Ali, however, managed only 68 runs in seven innings, including three scores of 2 against tournament champions Jersey. The rest of the batting order fared little better, with spin-bowling allrounder Aamir Kaleem the only Oman player besides Maqsood to cross 100 runs at the tournament, making 139 at 34.75.

“We need to buckle down and get these things organized,” Mendis said. “Batting has to be organized because number two, three, four never gave us any runs. That is a main concern right now.

“We tried with the present lot for a long period now and some of them haven’t really come off so we need to go back and see what we have and I’m sure …

continue reading in source www.espncricinfo.com