FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, CMC – Head coach Darren Sammy said West Indies were still lacking a genuine strike bowler, even in the wake of their triumph in the five-match Twenty20 International series against India.
West Indies dominated the Asian powerhouses to win the final T20I at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium by eight wickets on Sunday and complete a 3-2 series win – their first over their rivals in seven years.
And while praising the strides made by the unit, Sammy said there were still improvements to be made in order to further enhance the quality of performances.
“I think we have the batting, if we put our egos aside and play the situation, and have the best man in that situation representing the team as a batting group. I think we’re ok,” Sammy said.
“I still feel for us, we’re still searching for that wicket-taking bowler. We have Alzarri (Joseph), we have Akeal (Hosein) who gives us that control like we saw [on Sunday] in the power-play.
“When we were strong, yes we had the power-hitters but we had (Sunil) Narine, we had (Samuel) Badree – we had guys who could get wickets in the middle.
“And when we do those things – get wickets in the power-play, get wickets in the middle – we do put teams under pressure.”
A two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain, Sammy took over the job as white ball head coach last May, following the departure of Phil Simmons, who quit his post following West Indies’ failure to qualify for the last T20 World Cup in Australia last October.
Since his appointment, Sammy has spoken of the need to find the right personnel, and he said the upcoming Caribbean Premier League beginning Wednesday in St Lucia, would provide such a hunting ground for bowlers.
“Moving forward, it is finding them. We have young guys – (Gudakesh) Motie, (Yannic) Cariah,” said Sammy.
“The CPL is coming and I’ll be looking closely at who can have an impact with the ball for us moving forward, and I think [captain] Rovman Powell will be quite happy that he has a bowler he can call on searching for a wicket, and I think we’re searching there right now.
“But from a batting point-of-view, I think we’re in a good space.”
West Indies lost the preceding Test and One-Day series to India but appeared to be having an easy run in the shortest format when they stormed to a 2-0 lead.
However, India hit back to level the series with wins in the second match in Guyana and the first game of the doubleheader here last Saturday.
And Sammy said the series win, especially over giants like India, would be a huge confidence booster, especially in view of the white-ball side’s recent disappointments.
“[We have] new coaching staff, new captains – the one day series [we lost] 2-1. We were right there,” Sammy explained.
“To come here under pressure in this game having gone 2-0 up [and] for the guys to come out and turn up and play like the way they played [on Sunday], and the senior men putting their hands up, [was great to see].”
He continued: “In the big scheme of things, beating India is always a plus but for the boys … it was also important to change the message out there in the public.”
