Nurse’s second chance to shine

BENGALURU, India – Ashley Nurse made a big impression with the bat as West Indies “A” team fell short of India “A’s” huge total, to lose by 77 runs in the opening match of their One-Day series on Sunday.
Playing at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium,  India A batted first and rattled up 312 for four  off 42 overs with a century from captain Yuvraj Singh.  The Windies replied with 235 off 39.1 overs.
Nurse, known more for his off-spin bowling,  played a cameo at the end of the innings to make  57 off 50 balls with six boundaries and a six.
Speaking to WICB Media, the 24-year-old said he had been working hard on his batting and wanted  to establish himself as a bona fide all-rounder.
“Everyone knows my bowling is my strength and that is the one area that got me into the West Indies set-up  . . . but I can also bat and I have been working very hard at my batting as well. I want to get better with the bat and move up the ranks to become  a ‘proper’ all-rounder.”
Nurse came to the crease after Narsingh Deonarine fell for the joint top-score of 57 at 176 for seven in the 30th over, and proceeded with a swift counter-attack, ensuring the tail wagged.
Originally selected for just the limited-overs portion of the tour, Nurse was later named in the squad for the three four-day matches and sees the series as a chance to work his way back onto the international stage.
He had a stint in the Windies team when he made two T20 Internationals appearances in St Lucia and Trinidad back in 2011.
“This is a big tour for me,”?he said. “I see this as  a second chance to get myself back to the West Indies team so I’m looking to take this opportunity  with both hands.
“I’m feeling confident and I feel well with the way I’m playing at the moment. Whenever I bowl I look  to get wickets and whenever I go out to bat I look  to get runs.”
Earlier this year, he made his debut for Barbados  in the Regional 4-Day tournament and was among the leading wicket-takers. He took a record match haul of 14 for 40 against the Windward Islands,  ending with 45 wickets to emerge as a crucial member of the championship-winning team.
“No matter the format I just try to be consistent.  I believe some people had me pigeon-holed as a limited overs bowler but I never let that worry me too much,” Nurse pointed out.
“I always knew I could bowl in any format. I just wanted to perform and be consistent and make the most of every opportunity. That’s exactly what I’m looking to do on this tour as well … to make the best. The key is my consistency. I look to make the batsmen played a lot of balls and build a lot of pressure. That’s how I get my wickets.”  (PR)