Barbados Today article.
Another Barbadian cricketer is preaching the virtues of hard work after being called up to play for the West Indies.
Fast bowler Miguel Cummins told Barbados TODAY he was grateful for the opportunity and will seek to be more consistent in an effort to cement his place in the squad after being called up to replace Jerome Taylor who retired abruptly from Test cricket this week.
Cummins, who was retained by St Lucia Zouks for the 2016 Hero Caribbean Premier League, returned to Barbados last night and joined the West Indies team today at a camp at the 3Ws Oval. The regional side is currently preparing to take on number two ranked India in a four-match Test series.
“It is a good feeling, I am ready and my body is up for the challenge. So I am hoping for good results in the upcoming series. I have been getting wickets so I think the selectors were looking at that and they think I am ready so I will look to go out there and repay their trust and give a good performance,” Cummins said.
The 25-year-old had originally been left out of the 12 man squad but became the obvious choice for selectors after travelling to Australia in December last year as a replacement for Shannon Gabriel but did not play. This will be his chance to prove his worth after being selected for the first match of the Indian tour which begins July 21 in Antigua.
Cummins explained that he did not expect the call so soon but was happy that it is in the Caribbean where the conditions are familiar. In addition to that he had high praise for West Indies’ new bowling coach Roddy Estwick who he said has assisted him a lot.
“I work a lot with Roddy who is also the assistant coach with Barbados Pride and thanks to him I have been focusing and being more consistent which I will carry into the upcoming series,” he explained.
The right-handed fast bowler who swings the ball, has so far played 41 first class games with a total of 116 wickets at an average of 22.56. He wore West Indies’ colours back in 2014 when he played a One-Day International match against Ireland in Jamaica with one wicket to his name.
Despite not being classed as a batsman, Cummins said he intended to also score some runs and stick around with the batsmen to play his role in that department by contributing at least 20 to 30 runs if needs be.
The full squad for the first Test is: Jason Holder (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Leon Johnson, Rajendra Chandrika, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Carlos Brathwaite, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel.
The three remaining games are in Jamaica, St Lucia and Trinidad.
First Published In Barbados Today.
