West Indies assistant coach Toby Radford has called on the team to maintain their ability to remain cool under pressure when they face Australia in the second ICC World Twenty20 2012 semi-final on Friday (October 5). According to ICC official website, Radford suggested the team should be able to draw strength from their Super Over victory against New Zealand in their final Super Eights match when they go into their crunch match at the R. Premadasa Stadium. “It was great that we had Gayle and Samuels in for the ‘Super Over’ against New Zealand,” Radford said. “When people talk about pressure, these guys don’t really look like they feel the pressure. They are remarkably calm and cool under pressure. You can’t get much cooler than Marlon and Chris, so having them at the crease was ideal for us in that situation. “We also saw Dwayne Smith with a brilliant run out off the last ball of the match – again staying calm under pressure. They, along with the captain [Darren Sammy] and a few other experienced players, bring a calming influence on the team. “What we’re hoping for on Friday is that two sides of our game come together. In some of the matches so far we have been able to get big scores – like you saw against Australia in the first round and against England in the Super Eights; and bowled well – like we did against Ireland in the first round and against New Zealand to restrict them and force a tie in the Super Eights.” West Indies lost to Australia earlier in the tournament, in a rain-affected match, but Radford prefers to draw on a previous meeting for inspiration. “We are confident we can deliver against Australia. Earlier in the year we beat them in a Twenty20 match in Barbados (by 14 runs on 30 March) and we felt we could have beaten them earlier in the tournament when the rains came – they were ahead (on Duckworth/Lewis Method) when the rain came and ended the match, but they still needed 90 runs in 10 overs and we felt we could bowl well enough to rebound and win. “We like to play against them. We had a good series against them in the Caribbean in the T20s and the ODIs. We know they’re a good side, but no one in our team fears them. We know that once we play to our potential we have every chance of beating them and advancing to the finals,” he concluded.
