Players hungry for success, says Windies A manager

BEAUSEJOUR, St Lucia (CMC):

As West Indies A prepare for the back-to-back two-match Twenty20 series against Bangladesh A here this weekend, the regional team's manager, Colin Borde, said he was delighted to be playing a part in the development of West Indies cricket.

"It is good to be playing a part in the development of West Indies cricket and to work with these young up-and-coming players who are extremely talented, and who I believe will take West Indies cricket to higher heights," the former Trinidad and Tobago team manager said.

"I have got to know most of these players over the past couple of years and it is good to see they are being rewarded and developing in their profession and justifying their selections," Borde added.

The T20 matches will be played today and tomorrow.

One-wicket victory

On Tuesday, the West Indies A team completed a tense one-wicket victory over Bangladesh A in the second and final Digicel 'Test' at Beausejour, to take the series 1-0 after a hard-fought draw in Antigua.

"It was a tight series but what is obvious is that the players are learning, and learning quickly. They are recognising that to achieve at the highest level they need to maximise their potential by minimising their mistakes," said the 47-year-old cricket administrator.

Borde said that he was impressed with the all-round performance of Andre Russell and the work ethic of batsman Danza Hyatt, but as a group all the players worked well with each other.

"I see players who are very hungry for success. They are young and committed, and while they need to do some more work before their skills are refined, they have bright futures ahead once they dedicate the time and energies to their development," added Borde, who is the holder of a commercial pilot's licence.

Mohammed Sohrawordi took the Digicel Man of the Match award for the second 'Test' while Russell was named Digicel Man of the Series. Both players were rewarded with BlackBerrys from Digicel.

Following the T20 series, the teams move to St Vincent for three Digicel one-day matches.

West Indies A T20 squad: Dwayne Smith (captain), Samuel Badree, Christopher Barnwell, Miles Bascombe, Nkrumah Bonner, Carlos Brathwaite, Johnson Charles, Jason Mohammed, Garey Mathurin, Nelon Pascal, Veerasammy Permaul, Krishmar Santokie, Devon Thomas.