West Indies cricket has a legacy of great fast bowlers. Pace has been the forte of all the Caribbean sides ever since the 1970s
West Indies cricket has a legacy of great fast bowlers. Pace has been the forte of all the Caribbean sides ever since the 1970s. So it was surprising to see Trinidad and Tobago fielding three specialist spinners in their playing eleven when they took on Somerset Sabres in the Champions League Twenty20 at Chinnaswamy Stadium yesterday.
And the strategy of relying on spin worked to perfection as the trio of offie Sherwin Ganga, leggie Samuel Badree and chinaman Dave Mohammed returned with combined figures of 11-0-54-4 to help their team register a convincing 44-run victory over the England domestic T20 champions.
After opening their campaign with a comprehensive win, skipper Daren Ganga called for a change in the West Indies selectors' attitude towards spinners. "I thought after assessing the conditions that the spinner will always be crucial on this surface. The Caribbean cricket has always underestimated the importance of spinners in international cricket," Ganga, the elder of the two brothers, said. "Every international team has at least one quality spinner. So I guess it's time for the powers that be in the Caribbean cricket to change their approach and realise the importance of spinners."
Even Somerset skipper Justin Langer, who was undone by the Man of the Match Sherwin in his first over, which set Sabres completely on the backfoot in their hunt for the target of 151, acknowledged Trinidadians' quality spin bowling.
"We had a good look at them. We have a West Indian, Omari Banks, in our squad and he had given us an idea about the potential danger that lay in their spin department. We even had a good look at their videos," Langer said. "We respect the fearless cricket the West Indians played."
After making short work of the top England side, Trinidad now aim at replicating their performance against home team Deccan Chargers in Hyderabad tomorrow.
