CHESTER-LE-STREET, England, CMC – Champion off-spinner Sunil Narine said the unsettling cold temperatures during the one-off Twenty20 International had been difficult to deal with but hailed the professional approach from West Indies after they trounced England by 21 runs here Saturday.
Temperatures at the Riverside in the northeast dipped to 10 degrees Celsius but Narine conjured up a excellent Man-of-the-Match spell of two for 15 from four overs, to help the Windies defend 177.
“Any cricket game you win no matter the conditions I think you enjoy it. It was a total team effort,” Narine said following the victory, while admitting the conditions were close to the coldest he had ever played in.
“We are from the warm islands so coming here [and winning] in the cold when it’s drizzling and the ball is wet, is a magnificent effort from the West Indies.”
He added: “It’s difficult but at the end of the day you’re an international cricketer so you have to cope with it. You might not cope with it every single day but the days that they go well for you you have to give the Almighty credit for just being able to go out there and perform.”
England lost Jason Roy to the first ball of the run chase but Alex Hales struck a flamboyant 43 from 39 deliveries with eight fours and a six, to propel the hosts to 64 without further loss in the sixth over.
Narine’s introduction in the fifth over stalled England’s scoring and he also accounted for dangerous captain Eoin Morgan for two and David Willey for one, as the home side’s challenge fizzled out.
“I think on days when it’s difficult, you just enjoy the performance,” Narine explained.
“I think it is very difficult to bowl [in these conditions] but I think once you hit the right areas and have the right field settings [you can get rewards].
“It was the perfect time for me to come into the [attack] and keep things tight and it went well today and hopefully in the future it can continue.”
West Indies lost the preceding three-Test series 2-1 but managed to show fight in winning the second Test at Headingley.
And with the T20 result under their belts, Narine said he hoped the Caribbean side could now push on to achieve success in the upcoming five-match One-Day International series starting Tuesday at Old Trafford.
“I think West Indians play exciting cricket so no matter what form it is, we’re going to play exciting cricket,” he noted.
“It hasn’t been coming off [in the recent past] but of late we’ve been doing good so hopefully we can continue from the Test series [and] the T20 … and this can boost the morale and hopefully we go out there and do well in the five ODIs.”
