PORT OF SPAIN: West Indies seamer Kemar Roach dedicated his eight wickets in the second Test againstAustralia to legendary fast bowler Malcolm Marshall, who would have been 54 on Wednesday.
Roach has been the standout bowler for the home side in the match which appeared destined for a draw after torrential rain restricted action on the fourth day at Queen's Park Oval to just 30.4 overs.
Australiafinished the day on 73 for three in their second innings, a lead of 127 runs after Roach had taken all the wickets to fall to add to his five-wicket haul in the first innings.
"Today would have been Malcolm Marshall's 54th birthday, it's a special day, I looked up to him as a bowler," said Roach of his fellowBarbadosquick who died from cancer in 1999.
"I've watched a lot of clips of him and he was just such a great, great bowler. He was the best in the world at the time.
"I can't really explain it, it's a good feeling to know that I got some wickets on his birthday and it makes me feel warm as a West Indian to know I can go out there and perform for theWest Indieslike he did."
Roach sent back openers David Warner and Ed Cowan before clean-bowling Shane Watson for nought asWest Indiessaw a chance to keep the Australian lead in check.
But that was before the rain made a draw the likely result, an outcome which would allowAustralia, who won the first Test of the three-match series, to maintain their two-decade grip on the Frank Worrell Trophy.
"I had my plans, it's a matter of executing," said 23-year-old Roach, playing in his 15th Test.
"I know where I have a better chance of getting them out now so I'll be working hard in the nets to keep being accurate and consistent. Hopefully I'll keep blasting through the top order."
He also said he enjoyed seeing Watson's off-stump cartwheel down the pitch.
"It was a good sight," he added. "I really enjoyed that one. Shane Watson's a great batsman, I rate him a lot and to get him on that wicket, is a good achievement."
Marshallwas born onApril 18, 1958, and died onNovember 4, 1999, in his nativeBarbados.
A master of pace and swing, he took a then West Indies record 376 wickets in 81 Test matches at the impressive average of 20.94 apiece.
Roach, who has 3 for 27 in the second innings, has had to work for his wickets on aTrinidadpitch which is so low that both teams have opted to throw the new ball to a spinner.
In theWest Indies' case, Roach was first change on Wednesday once off-spinner Shane Shillingford had been given an early opportunity.
"The lower the bounce in the pitch, you obviously want to challenge the stumps a bit more, keep your pace up, be as accurate as possible and challenge the batsmen's technique. That's what got me wickets," he said.
Roach is now in line to become the firstWest Indiesbowler to take 10 wickets in a match againstAustraliasince Curtly Ambrose performed the feat back in 1993.
"It would be great to get 10 wickets in this match and help the team to a winning position," he said.
"I am in the hunt for it and when we come back (on Thursday), I will adopt the same approach - bowling straight and attacking the stumps and look for more wickets."
"Looking ahead, we'll devise a plan and come out looking to be competitive. We look to win every game, that's our mentality. We're going to come out and do whatever we have to do. We're going to do it in a positive way."
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