DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, CMC – Off-spinner Ashley Nurse says the preparation camp which ended here Sunday has left West Indies in high spirits, heading into the Twenty20 World Cup starting in India next week.
The Caribbean side has spent the last two weeks training in the UAE and also played four unofficial warm-up games – two against Zimbabwe in Sharjah – and another two against English County Warwickshire over the last week.
“Dubai is a fantastic place to have a camp. The facilities are magnificent,” said Nurse, a late call-up to the squad as replacement for Sunil Narine.
“I think the camaraderie in the team is top notch. The guys are in good spirits and hopefully it carries on over the next four weeks in the World Cup.”
He added: “It’s good to represent West Indies [at any tournament] but a global event is top notch. This is a format that we really back ourselves in and it’s nice to be part of the team in this global event.”
Nurse played a key role as West Indies beat Warwickshire by three wickets in the final warm-up game at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
He grabbed two wickets during the Warwickshire innings of 157 for five and then produced a late-order cameo of 25 not out from just nine deliveries, to see West Indies to victory with seven balls remaining.
“The pitch was a bit slow so I just tried to utilise the pitch as much as possible, use the conditions well and hit the ball into the wicket and it came out successful on the day,” Nurse said of his bowling.
However, it was his seventh wicket stand of 55 off 23 balls with captain Darren Sammy, who made 34, which gave West Indies the edge in the run chase.
“It was a good experience. I knew my worth with the bat so I just tried to keep it as simple as possible,” Nurse explained.
“I know I can hit some boundaries so when the ball came into my area, I just tried to maximise and get some boundaries. We were talking a lot about keeping it simple … we just needed two big overs and fortunately for us it came off.”
He added: “For a guy like me coming in as a reserve. It’s nice to contribute to the winning cause of the team and I try to give my best every opportunity I get, and it’s nice to bring home one for the guys in the warm-up games.”
West Indies fly to Kolkata on Monday for the last leg of their preparation, and will play official warm-ups against India on Thursday and Australia next Sunday.
Nurse said he was highly motivated heading into his first global tournament.
“Obviously I’m an all-rounder so I just want to contribute with bat and ball, and also in the field. I will try to bring the energy and help the guys win some games.”