Samuels has grown into a useful asset for the West Indies
West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels knows that his team will rely on him to perform with both bat and ball during the rest of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 and future series.
Samuels, who usually comes in at third when batting, has the ability to steady himself or smash the ball into the stands, which will be extremely useful for the West Indies given the situation, but not only that, he also has a deadly off-spinner that tricks batsmen now and again.
“My role will be in every department – batting, bowling and fielding. I’m in good form with the bat. I did well in England and continued on against New Zealand. I have also been working hard in the nets and I feel ready,” Samuels said.
Having been in the form of his life throughout the last couple series West Indies played, Samuels noted that his confidence has now gone through the roof.
“I’m always confident. I got some big scores in recent times and that also helped to boost my confidence a bit more. I feel I am on top of my game. I’ve been getting in the yorkers and I approach my bowling the same way as I have always done. I’m just trying to get the balls in the block hole and bowl as many dot balls as possible,” Samuels added.
With a decade of experience under his belt as well, Samuels is relishing the opportunity to become the West Indies go-to man in all formats of the game.
In the West Indies series against England earlier in the year, Samuels scored 117 at Nottingham, and followed up his brilliant performance with an outstanding 123 against New Zealand at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.
When asked if he noted any difference in the pitches between Sri Lanka and the Caribbean, Samuels said: “The pitches here are not much different from those in the Caribbean … slow, so you just have to wait on the ball and play it a bit later. We have a fit team and everyone is playing together. If you look at T20 around the world, the people that are bowling 90mph aren’t really playing. It’s the people who bowl medium pace and slower balls. I’m sure once we execute our plans we will be okay, but we are not taking anybody for granted.”