BENGALURU, India – Ashley Nurse made a big impression with the bat as West Indies A team fell short of India A’s huge total, to lose by 77 runs in the opening match of their one-day series on Sunday.
Playing at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, India A batted first and rattled up 312-4 off 42 overs with a century from captain Yuvraj Singh. The Windies replied with 235 off 39.1 overs.
Nurse, known more for his off-spin bowling, played a cameo at the end of the innings to make 57 off 50 balls with six boundaries and a six.
Speaking to WICB Media, the 24-year-old said he has been working hard on his batting and wants to establish himself as a bona fide all-rounder.
"Everyone knows my bowling is my strength and that is the one area that got me into the West Indies set-up…but I can also bat and I have been working very hard at my batting as well. I want to get better with the bat and move up the ranks to become a ‘proper’ all-rounder."
Nurse came to the crease after Narsingh Deonarine fell for the joint top-score of 57 at 176-7 in the 30th over, and proceeded with a swift counter-attack, ensuring the tail wagged.
Originally selected for just the limited-overs portion of the tour, Nurse was later named in the squad for the three four-day matches and sees the series as a chance to work his way back onto the international stage.
He had a stint in the Windies team when he made two T20 Internationals appearances in St Lucia and Trinidad back in 2011.
"This is a big tour for me. I see this as a second chance to get myself back to the West Indies team so I’m looking to take this opportunity with both hands," he noted.
"I’m feeling confident and I feel well with the way I’m playing at the moment. Whenever I bowl I look to get wickets and whenever I go out to bat I look to get runs."
Earlier this year, he made his debut for Barbados in the Regional 4-Day tournament and was among the leading wicket-takers. He took a record match haul of 14-40 against the Windward Islands, ending with 45 wickets to emerge as a crucial member of the championship-winning team.
"No matter the format I just try to be consistent. I believe some people had me was pigeon-holed as a limited overs bowler but I never let that worry me too much," Nurse pointed out.
"I always knew I could bowl in any format. I just wanted to perform and be consistent and make the most of every opportunity. That’s exactly what I’m looking to do on this tour as well…to make the best. The key is my consistency. I look to make the batsmen played a lot of ball and build a lot of pressure. That’s how I get my wickets."
West Indies A Team will be back in action when they face India A in the second 50-over match on Tuesday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. First ball is11:30 pm Monday Eastern Caribbean Time/10:30 pm Monday Jamaica Time).