GROS ISLET, St Lucia – Rising Test star Roston Chase said today he would not take his form in the recent Pakistan series for granted, as he looked to make his mark in the One-Day International series against Afghanistan starting Friday.
The right-handed Chase is the only uncapped player in the 13-man squad named for the three-match series scheduled for the Darren Sammy National Stadium. He has been called up by virtue of his heaving scoring in the recent three-Test series in the Caribbean.
But the Barbadian said he was under no illusions that his form in the longer format would automatically translate into ODIs.
“I’m confident coming in, having that series against Pakistan but this is a different format,” he noted.
“I can’t really take that for granted. I now have to find my feet and work out what are the dos and don’ts at this level.”
Chase finished as the leading scorer in the Pakistan series, amassing 403 runs at an average of 100, including two hundreds and two half-centuries.
The performance came against the backdrop of his maiden Test hundred against India last year when he helped West Indies pull off a battling draw on a difficult last day wicket at Sabina Park.
Chase, who averages only 25 in List A cricket, said he did not intend to make major changes to his approach to batting in the one-day format.
“I think the main thing to focus on is not really changing my game too much because it’s one-day cricket,” he pointed out.
“[It’s] not thinking about just fours and sixes but rotating the strike as I usually do and putting away the bad balls. That’s the main thing for me.”
He added: “But if the team requires me to play a different role, I am more than happy to play the role the team requires me to do at that point in time.
Since his last competitive innings almost a month ago, Chase has spent the time at home improving his fitness and making minor adjustments to his technique.
And he said he hoped the improvements would further enhance his game as he looked forward to his one-day career.
“I’ve been mainly doing some gym work and fitness work but in the batting department I’ve just been working on being a bit more forceful with some balls I’ve picked up the line of early,” the 25-year-old noted.
“[I’m] just looking to be a little more aggressive but not too overly aggressive and just get my footwork [together] and just using the wrists a lot more to manoeuvre the ball into the gaps.”
