COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, CMC- Former West Indies wicketkeeper, Deryck Murray, is recommending the use of two specialist spinners when the regional side meets Australia on today in their opening match of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.
While the West Indies boasts an array of attacking batsmen Murray however believes their bowling attack could prove decisive.
The ex-player says the spin pairing of Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree can do a lot of damage on the subcontinent wickets and tilt the match in the West Indies favour.
“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 T and T in Twenty20 for a long time”said Murray.
“I believe he has a very important part to play in this tournament”.
The former Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board president says a lot will depend on off-spinner Narine who has proven to be one of the best bowlers in the world in twenty/20 cricket.
The 24-year-old ICC Emerging Player of the Year 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.
“Narine is the ‘mystery’ bowler and will be entrusted to break important partnerships and keep the scoring rate down,” Murray said.
However, he has dismissed Australia as a team in transition and says he was not impressed with their line-up.
“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” said Murray in an interview with Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.
“If you look at South Africa they have basically the same team playing Tests, ODIs and T20 and they look really good”.
Murray says West Indies stand an excellent chance of defeating the Aussies with their star-studded lineup that includes power-hitters such as Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, and Marlon Samuels.
“On paper we have a strong team to face any opposition” Murray said.
“We hope that the players can perform to their potential, the performance on the field must match that capability”.
