Borde: Nurse adds new edge to Knight Riders

Gabriel Blackmann (NYLO Intern)

The inclusion of Bajan off-spinner Ashley Nurse to the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) squad is a “good one,” according to TKR manager Colin Borde. Nurse is likely to make his debut on Wednesday when the TKR face St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at Warner Park in St Kitts.

Nurse comes in as a replacement for Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who has been recalled for Bangladesh’s Test series against Australia. “This gives another option in off-spinners. Ashley is very experienced, he has played this format on many occasions, he also played for the West Indies and we expect that with his experience, if selected tomorrow, he will bring another edge to our team,” said Borde.

The upcoming match is a battle of the two top teams in the standings, with TKR at the top on 12 points, with six games won out of seven matches played. The Patriots hold second place with nine points with four games won out of six matches, and have the opportunity to play on home ground on Wednesday.

Speaking to Newsday today about his strategy for the upcoming match, Borde admitted that the Patriots are a formidable team with the likes of Jamaican Chris Gayle and Barbados Carlos Brathwaite in their ranks.

“Being away from home, we’d assess the conditions that we currently have to play under. We’ve played here before since it’s the fifth edition of CPL, so a number of the players have been with us from day one. Certainly, most of the players have played on that ground before and so there’s a specific way we’ll have to play and that will be determined by the coaching staff.”

Borde expressed confidence in the team, citing the various options available in the fielding, bowling and batting line up. “Uppermost with this team is that, we play as a team and not rely on one individual and that we play to our strengths and our strengths in this particular team is that we have various options that the captain can turn to.”