Mathurin Predicted Match-Winning Performance - Sammy

Mathurin Predicted Match-Winning Performance - Sammy

Garey Mathurin celebrates one of his wickets which helped the West Indies beat England at The Oval

©Action Images / Andrew Boyers Livepic

West Indies captain Darren Sammy has revealed that prior to returning figures of three for nine that bowled his side to a Twenty20 International victory over England at The Oval, left-arm spinner Garey Mathurin had predicted that he would produce such a performance.

Sammy said that Mathurin, called up as a late addition to the touring party when Ashley Nurse failed a fitness test, predicted that he would take four for ten.

His subsequent effort earned him the man-of-the-match award as England were bowled out for 88 chasing 114 to win.

"Before we left the dressing room he told me he would get four wickets, and for just ten runs," Sammy revealed.

"He wasn’t smiling, he wasn’t joking. He was quite serious about what he was saying and he was quite determined to achieve it.

"He didn’t get four for 10 but the three for nine at the top of the innings did the job for the team and helped us get a remarkable win.

"It was a really great start to his international career. Under such pressure, to open the bowling, use the new ball and deliver in such a convincing way, was truly great to see. I played a lot with him in the St Lucia team and for the Windward Islands and he is a very confident player. He believes in himself and he always backs his ability."

The result was a remarkable turnaround for the Caribbean side, who were routed by ten wickets in the opening match despite scoring more runs (128) than the 113 for five they managed in the second match.

"We didn’t get a wicket on Friday night and to bounce back and take all ten and dismiss England in double figures was a remarkable turnaround and everyone deserves congratulations for a superb job," Sammy added.

"It was a stunning fightback after the first match and we always believed anything was possible on the night.

"The extra fielding we did at training on Saturday with the coaching staff really paid off. It was really good to get a win and the supporters who turned up to see us wanted to see us compete hard against the Englishmen and it is great we could give them something to celebrate."

The West Indies now depart for Dubai, where they will be spending a week in a training camp ahead of their tour of Bangladesh, which begins on 7th October with their first warm-up game.

They then play one Twenty20 International, three One-Day Internationals and two Tests.

© Cricket World 2011