'Health is very important' - West Indies players wear masks during 2nd ODI in Lucknow

After Delhi, another venue in India has made it to the news for all the wrong reasons. The buildup to the Delhi T20I between India and Bangladesh was completely dominated by talks of the pollution level in the national capital. Bangladesh Cricket Board had, in fact, also conveyed their worries to the BCCI but the latter could not shift the venue because of lack of time.

Fortunately, the game had gone ahead without much trouble although reports suggested that two Bangladesh players had vomited. And after Delhi, Lucknow is now also in the news after some players donned masks while playing. West Indies players were seen with masks on their faces when the second ODI was going on in the city on Saturday.

However, Indian Express has reported that the pollution level in Lucknow was not the issue or the reason behind the players’ decision to wear masks. The players were forced to wear the additional gear due to the number of moths that had been attracted by the flashlights around the playing area. The likes of Nicholas Pooran, Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard, and Sheldon Cottrell were seen wearing the masks while they were fielding.

“I’ve never played with so many flies around. Health is very important, so something’s got to be done about that,” Pollard said at the presentation ceremony after the match.

West Indies crush Afghanistan

Talking about the match, West Indies beat Afghanistan by 47 runs in the second game. Asked to bat first, West Indies started well with the bat. Their openers Shai Hope and Evin Lewis added 98 runs for the first wicket. However, the Caribbean outfit suffered a collapse before Pooran rescued them. The left-handed batsman came out to bat when West Indies were 3 down for 137 in the 35th over.

From thereon, he scored a fine fifty to help his side post a competitive total of 247 for 9. Pooran reached his fifty in just 38 balls and eventually scored 67 from 50. In reply, Afghanistan were all out for just 200. With the win, West Indies wrapped up the series and registered their first ODI series win since 2014. Both the teams will now play one more ODI, three T20Is followed by a one-off Test.

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