Nkrumah Bonner: Playing the ball late key to success in England tour

The West Indian middle-order batsman is confident his team can put up big scores in the Test series that begins on July 8.

Nkrumah Bonner (left) has played two T20Is for the West Indies.

Middle-order batsman Nkrumah Bonner, on his first Test tour with the West Indies, feels playing the ball late will be the key to the batsmen’s success in the three-Test series in England starting next week.

The middle-order batsman from Jamaica was speaking on Monday after the opening day of the four-day warm-up match was abandoned due to wet weather. Bonner, 31, believes the preparations have been going very well since the squad arrived in Manchester three weeks ago.

After the end of the warm-up fixture the West Indies will travel to Southampton for the first Test at the Ageas Bowl, starting July 8.

“I played two T20s back in 2011 and 2012, so I have a little bit of a feel for what it’s like at the international level. My first T20 was here in England at the Oval, back when Darren Sammy was captain, so that’s a while ago, but I know the English conditions and I know to be successful here you have to adapt quickly,” he told westindiescricket.com .

“One of the keys to batting is that you have to play the ball late, it different to what you get back home in the Caribbean.”

Bonner acknowledged that the team’s batting will be under scrutiny when the West Indies defends the Wisden Trophy in the three Tests, but is confident the team will be able to put up good scores, as it did when it won on home turf last year.

“There is great camaraderie in the camp. There is great unity and we know the goal ahead of us is to win back the Wisden Trophy. Well, over the past year the batting has been struggling, the bowling has been holding up its end of it, I think with the batting if we can score the runs and put it on the board that would give us the best chance of coming out successful on this tour,” he added.