KINGSTON, Jamaica – Left-arm spinner Nikita Miller was excellent with the ball as West Indies beat Ireland by four wickets in the one-off One-Day International on Sunday at Sabina Park.
The 31-year-old had figures of 10-0-30-2 as the Windies bowled out the visitors for 202 in the 50th and final over of the innings. He showed good control and also got the ball to turn to provide the perfect support for new ball bowler Jason Holder (9-1-34-3) and skipper Dwayne Bravo (9.2-0-36-3).
The Windies then made 205-6 off 36.4 overs to win with 80 balls to spare. The victory was set-up by an opening stand of 100 off 101 balls between left-hander Kieran Powell (57) and Dwayne Smith – who hit 55 off 53 balls with five boundaries and three sixes on his return to the ODI team.
Captain Bravo then made 35 off 29 balls to take the Man-of-the-Match award while Marlon Samuels (26 not out) ended the match with a flurry of boundaries.
Speaking after the match Miller said: “I have not played here for West Indies since 2010 so I was really looking forward to the challenge of playing in front of my family and supporters. It is always a good feeling at home – it gives you an extra push.
“I had a decent start with the ball and the luck went my way so I was happy with the way things ended. I thought I bowled well – well enough to get the figure I had. It was a great to see we scored the runs quite comfortably in the end.
He added: “...based on the first two T20s I thought the pitch was better for the batsmen in this match. It offered some spin but it was not sharp spin so I had to get the ball in the right areas and force the batsmen into error. Early up, (Gary) Wilson batted well and deserved his half-century. He gave us a few worries so I knew I had to pull things back when I got my turn with the ball.”
The West Indies will travel from Jamaica to Antigua on Monday where they will face England in three One-Day Internationals at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, starting next Friday. Miller said is looking forward to the three-match rubber and will use the build-up period to do some additional work with Saqlain Mushtaq, the new Spin Bowling Coach.
“I analysed my bowling previously with him and we are going to go into the nets and work on a few things when we reach over in Antigua,” Miller said. “England is a much tougher opponent than Ireland so I have to make sure I prepare myself for that challenge and hopefully I can bring the sort of form I have been carrying from New Zealand with me into that series.”
SQUAD vs ENGLAND
Dwayne Bravo (captain)
Darren Bravo
Kirk Edwards
Jason Holder
Nikita Miller
Sunil Narine
Kieran Powell
Denesh Ramdin
Ravi Rampaul
Marlon Samuels
Darren Sammy
Lendl Simmons
Dwayne Smith
MANAGEMENT
Ottis Gibson (Head Coach)
Richie Richardson (Team Operations Manager)
Stuart Williams (Assistant Coach)
Andre Coley (Assistant Coach)
Saqlain Mushtaq (Assistant Coach)
C.J. Clark (Physiotherapist)
Hector Martinez Charles (Strength & Conditioning Coordinator)
Richard Berridge (Video & Statistical Analyst)
Virgil Browne (Massage Therapist)
Philip Spooner (Media Relations Manager)
NOTES:
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