(SPORTS MAX) Former Windies wicketkeeper, Deryck Murray, believes it is important for the team to cultivate the habit of winning and admits to being encouraged by the displays in recent weeks.
The West Indies followed up a gutsy away win over Bangladesh, with a hard-fought T20 series win over Sri Lanka, before putting on a dominant display in a One Day International (ODI) series against the same opponents.
While some may view the results with an air of skepticism, due to what they believe is inferior opposition, Murray was quick to point out that the team’s approach and attitude in recent encounters was just as important as the results and could augur well for the future.
“We are at a stage where West Indies cricket, let’s face facts, is at the bottom of the rung and we have taken the opportunity to beat teams on an equal footing with us or just above us,” Murray told the Mason and Guest radio show.
“What we saw in the One Days against Sri Lanka were people playing to their responsibilities within the team…we saw that in areas of the One Day game where people were called up to bowl at different times, people coming to bowl at the death, etc. People were moving out of their comfort zone and doing what the team needed,” he added.
“Between going from number 9 to number 1 there are going to be obstacles and hiccups along the way. We are not going to beat everybody as we go along but being able to win in tight situations is key, forget whether it was Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. In tight situations, we came out of it winning. Players are going to start believing they can win. So, when we face England, Australia, India, or New Zealand, it’s not going to be us trying to do something as a one-off but let’s get into a situation to give ourselves a chance to win. You are going to start winning more than you are losing.”
The West Indies will now turn their attention to securing victory over Sri Lanka in the two-match Test series, which begins on Sunday
