 "Have been doing my role for Windies, wants to be more consistent: Nurse")
Off-spinner Ashley Nurse believes he is fulfilling his role that the West Indies expect from him. However, he wants to be even more consistent going into the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019, beginning May 30.
"I've been bowling well in patches. I haven't been as consistent as I'd like to be. Getting wickets is the ultimate goal for a bowler. I got a four-wicket haul in the first game against Ireland but I didn't bowl that well. But I'll take getting wickets any day. (In) the other two games it was a bit tough. This hasn't been a spinning deck. Wickets here are generally not good for spinners ... I have been doing my role in the team and it's nice to come in and do what the team requires (from) me," ICC quoted Nurse, as saying.
The 30-year-old, who returned with the figures of 3/53 in the fifth match against Bangladesh, has surged to the top of the wicket-taking list with a total of seven scalps. Nurse's performance is impressive given the Irish conditions are not spin-friendly.
In the 21st over on Monday evening, Nurse dismissed Shakib Al Hasan and Soumya Sarkar in a space of three balls to put Bangladesh under pressure. But an 83-run partnership between Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Mithun took Bangladesh over the line.
"Captain gave me the ball a bit early in the power play so it was all about restricting runs and building some pressure. It worked out for us. I got a couple of wickets in one over but to get 10 wickets (as a team) was the ultimate goal and we didn't get them. I was in a very good rhythm. It was a slow pitch. I got most of it right. It was a good performance for me. But to get a win was more important. Obviously, we didn't get that. But hopefully, we can come back in the final," Nurse said.
The Barbados-born, however, acknowledged that the West Indies were short of runs on the board and need to get a par score to give its bowlers something to defend in the final on May 17.
"I thought it was a 300 pitch and if we got to 280 also, we would have been fine. The wicket was as good as the game against Ireland. They have got the better of us in the last two games but that doesn't mean anything (in the final). We turn up and get some more runs on the board first and foremost then the bowlers will have an easier job. We need to build some pressure in the field (as well). And we need to get into their middle-order. We haven't done that," he said.