Tino can still give his best on field: Sammy

Castries (St.Lucia), July 31 (IANS/CMC) St.Lucia Zouks captain Darren Sammy says temperamental Barbadian fast bowler Tino Best needs to live up to his seniority as a West Indian international following his on-field clash with Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik last week.

The incident happened last Wednesday in Barbados during a Caribbean Premier League Match between the Barbados Tridents and the Zouks.

Best was fined 60 percent of his match fee while Shoaib has been fined half his match fee for the incident which occurred during the Tridents innings, reports CMC.

"Tino is a special character. The more I've played with him, the more I grew to understand him and the person he is," Sammy said.

"In any cricket game, you want to play in the true spirit of the game. I hope it gets better because he's not a young man. But he's still integral to our team."

The showdown between Best and Shoaib occurred after Best was put to the sword by Dwayne Smith, who made an unbeaten 110, and the Pakistani right-hander who stroked 49.

Shoaib struck the Barbadian pacer for two successive boundaries in the 15th over of the innings before being bowled, leading to some physical contact between the two players and an exchange of words.

Sammy, also the West Indies T20 captain, says Best still has a lot to offer the regional game.

"Once we control him and use his head a bit more wisely, he's a good asset for us. The cricket is being played on the field. We've spoken to Tino and I see all of you (the media) all pointing towards Tino Best, but there were two guys involved in the incident. It was not just one person," said Sammy.

"Everybody keeps jumping on Tino, Tino, Tino. It takes two hands to clap. We've dealt with it the best way possible and we're moving on now."

Meantime, Zouks franchise mentor, the former West Indies pacer Andy Roberts, says he is worried that indiscipline in West Indies cricket could erode their talent-pool.

Roberts has pointed out that Zouks needed to focus on consistency and playing well in pressure situations after a string of defeats in the tournament so far.

"Not for a lack of trying, I've spoken to Tino. Many people have, over and over again. Cricket is also a mental game, not just about talent," said Roberts.

"This sort of thing could hurt Tino's career on a regional and international level. It's been happening for years now and he needs to learn. Back when I played, we didn't do much talking. We just did our jobs with the ball and had a glare."

Zouks, who have lost all four matches played in the second edition of the CPL, will be seeking to revive their campaign in St.Lucia this weekend.

--IANS/CMC