Murray urges WI to play two spinnersBy STEPHON NICHOLAS Friday, September 21 2012
FORMER West Indies wicketkeeper, Deryck Murray, believes the regional side should play two specialist spinners tomorrow in their ICC Twenty20 World Cup opener against Australia in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
West Indies are widely regarded as favourites of the competition with an array of attacking batsmen but Murray believes it is their bowling attack that could prove decisive.
The ex-Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) president, noted that a spin pairing of Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree can do a lot of damage on the subcontinent wickets and tilt the match in the WI favour.
“Whether you go with (two) spinners or not, it is about who (the captain) can depend on in any given situation. I prefer spinners in this format...and you have to look at Badree. He is new to this level but has been one of the most successful players for TT in Twenty20 for a long time. I believe he has a very important part to play in this tournament,” Murray said.
The ex-Windies player noted as well that a lot will depend on off-spinner Narine who has proven to be one of the best bowlers in the world in this format.
The 24-year-old was named Man-of-the-Series at his inaugural appearance in the Indian Premier League earlier this year, leading the Kolkata Knight Riders to the title. He has also excelled in the Twenty20 Champions League for TT and recently won the ICC Emerging Player of the Year award.
“Narine is the ‘mystery’ bowler and will be entrusted to break important partnerships and keep the scoring rate down,” he said.
Scrutinising the ICC eight-ranked Australian squad, Murray revealed that he is not too impressed with the team which he believes is in a transition phase.
“They too are building a team and in a bit of transition. I’m not too sure that I am in favour of different teams and captains for different formats.
If you look at South Africa they have basically the same team playing Tests, ODIs and T20 and they look really good,” he pointed out.
The former wicketkeeper firmly believes that the regional team has an excellent chance of defeating the Aussies with their star-studded lineup.
With power-hitters such as Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard as well as Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo, the Windies boast some of the best T20 batsmen in the world but Murray stressed that it is performance on the day that counts.
“I think we have a good chance of beating Australia.
On paper we have a strong team to face any opposition. We hope that the players can perform to their potential, the performance on the field must match that capability.
Everyone must play their part and the tactics must be right because in T20 it is only a few runs that usually decide a match. Catches, wides and no-balls decide games in T20 so it is important to get everything right,” he declared.
Full Squad: Darren Sammy (captain), Dwayne Bravo (vice-captain), Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin (wicketkeeper), Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Smith.
