DUBLIN, Ireland, CMC – Off-spinner Ashley Nurse says he will be looking to improve his consistency so he can play the role expected of him in the ICC World Cup which bowls off in England at month end.
The 30-year-old is the Caribbean side’s frontline spinner and will be carrying the burden of the slow-bowling responsibility in an attack replete with fast bowlers.
During the ongoing Tri-Nations Series here, he picked up three wickets against Bangladesh last Monday in a losing cause but believes he is finally beginning to find his rhythm.
“I’ve been bowling well in patches. I haven’t been as consistent as I would like to be but at the end of the day, getting wickets is the ultimate goal for a bowler,” he said.
“I got a four-wicket haul against Ireland in the first game and didn’t bowl that well but at the end of the day, you will take wickets [anytime].
“The other two games were a bit tough in terms of feeling the ball in your hands and stuff like that.”
Nurse grabbed four for 51 in the Windies’ opener when they crushed Ireland by 196 runs but then went wicket-less in the next two games.
He said a major hurdle remained the nature of the surfaces but assured he was up for the challenge.
“There haven’t generally been spinning decks and the wickets here haven’t been good for spinners,” he pointed out.
“I’ve been given a role in the team to be a bit tight and I haven’t been doing that role so it was nice [in the second game against Bangladesh] to come and do exactly what the team requires of me.”
He added: “The captain gave me the ball a bit early in the power-play so it’s all about restricting the runs and building some pressure and obviously get some wickets. It worked out for us in that I got a couple wickets in one over but to get the ten wickets was the ultimate goal and we didn’t manage to do that.”
West Indies will face Bangladesh in the Tri-Nations Series final here Friday in their final ODI before the side travels to Southampton the following day to begin a one-week camp at the Rose Bowl.
The Windies face Pakistan in their first match of the World Cup on May 31 at Trent Bridge.
