Colombo, Sri Lanka – Assistant Coach Toby Radford has called on the West Indies to keep their cool and remain calm in the pressure situations as they get ready to face Australia on Friday night in what is being billed a "super semi-final" of the ICC World T20 tournament. First ball is 7 pm (9:30 am Eastern Caribbean Time/8:30 am Jamaica Time).
Assistant Coach Toby Radford has called on the West Indies to keep their cool and remain calm in the pressure situations as they get ready to face Australia on Friday night in what is being billed a "super semi-final" of the ICC World T20 tournament. First ball is 7 pm (9:30 am Eastern Caribbean Time/8:30 am Jamaica Time).
Radford, who joined the team earlier this year when the Windies hosted the Aussies in the Caribbean, said it was a delight to see the way Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels performed under pressure in the recent One-Over Eliminator in the Super Eights against New Zealand at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. Reflecting on the contest, he suggested that the focus and never-say-die attitude of the West Indies as well as awesome power-hitting were the deciding factors.
"It was great that we had Gayle and Samuels in for the ‘Super Over’ against New Zealand. When people talk about pressure, these guys don’t really look like they feel the pressure. They are remarkably calm and cool under pressure. You can’t get much cooler than Marlon and Chris, so having them at the crease was ideal for us in that situation.
"We also saw Dwayne Smith with a brilliant run out off the last ball of the match – again staying calm under pressure. They, along with the captain [Darren Sammy] and a few other experienced players, bring a calming influence on the team," Radford said.
"What we’re hoping for on Friday is that two sides of our game come together. In some of the matches so far we have been able to get big scores – like you saw against Australia in the first round and against England in the Super Eights; and bowled well – like we did against Ireland in the first round and against New Zealand to restrict them and force a tie in the Super Eights.
"We are confident we can deliver against Australia. Earlier in the year we beat them in a Twenty20 match in Barbados and we felt we could have beaten them earlier in the tournament when the rains came – they were ahead (on Duckworth/Lewis Method) when the rain came and ended the match, but they still needed 90 runs in 10 overs and we felt we could bowl well enough to rebound and win.
"We like to play against them. We had a good series against them in the Caribbean in the T20s and the ODIs…we know they’re a good side, but no one in our team fears them. We know that once we play to our potential we have every chance of beating them and advancing to the finals," he added.
Radford said he was happy with the improvement demonstrated by spinner Sunil Narine, who took three wickets to win the Player-of-the-Match award against the Black Caps at Pallekele. He also lauded the presence of Chris Gayle, the game’s leading power-hitter.
"Narine has gotten better as the tournament has gone on. In the earlier games he didn’t quite find his length. He bowled well against Ireland – where he was consistent. In the last game against New Zealand we saw the best of him – there was real control, the ball was turning both ways. We know that when he lands the ball in the right areas with it spinning both ways he can be a real handful. He can drag the scoring rate back by taking wickets and we saw that firsthand the way he bowled against New Zealand," noted Radford, who is a former Director of the Sagicor High Performance Centre.
"Chris’ slip catch against New Zealand was phenomenal. The reaction time was amazing and things like that can be defining moments in matches and can win you games. Having Chris in the side gives you so much – he puts fear in the opposition because they know he is a destructive player. When he is at the crease people are always on the look-out because he can hit those big boundaries and he has done very well throughout the tournament."