KHULNA – Fast bowler Tino Best has credited his new found maturity for his turnaround in cricket fortunes.
Best rebounded from injury and sliced through Bangladesh’s top order yesterday to install West Indies as heavy favourites to win the second Test.
Struggling with a stiff hamstring that limited him to just ten overs in the first innings, Best put aside the painful distraction in the second innings to grab three for 26 from eight overs and limit the Tigers to 226 for six, still 35 shortof making West Indies bat again.
“I wasn’t bowling at full tilt at all, I was concentrating more on keeping my wrist behind the ball and trying to get a bit of ‘shape’ on the ball, something [on] which I have been working really hard for the last couple of months with [coach Ottis] Gibson,” he said.
“When I [meet] flatter pitches in the sub-continent, I don’t have to try to bowl every delivery at 90 miles an hour, but try to get a bit of ‘shape’. Getting some in-swing and out-swing at my pace is going to help me on slow pitches.
“I have had this injury since 2010 when I played county cricket for Yorkshire. It came back on me from the Dhaka Test where I really pushed my body. It was painful, but I came back and bowled well.”
With Bangladesh cruising at 49 for one, Best struck two telling blows in the first over of his spell, bowling shot-maker Tamim Iqbal for 28 and first Test century-maker Naeem Islam for just two.
He then prised out the dangerous Shahriar Nafees for 21 with a snorter the batsman fended to slip as West Indies took control on the penultimate day at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium.
“Having Ottis Gibson around and to bowl that way would make him feel good as a coach. It shows that I am learning from all the advice he has passed on,” said the 31-year-old Best.
“With fast bowling, the older you get, the more mature you become, and bowling in such tough conditions is a learning curve for me and shows that I am improving as a player.” (CMC)
