Santokie: We Came Here To Win!

Bridgetown, Barbados – Jamaica will look to get their Caribbean T20 campaign back on track when they face the Netherlands on Friday at Kensington Oval. David Bernard’s men have eight points from two wins in three matches and will aim to beat the Dutch and earn a spot in Saturday’s Final Four.

Krishmar Santokie rushes past umpire Gregory Brathwaite to deliver. Photo: windiescricket.com/Randy Brooks photo

Left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie, the team’s best T20 bowler, believes they will “do the job” and advance. He also backed the batsmen to post a good score on what is an excellent batting surface at the historic venue.

“We have played three (matches) … won two and lost one, so that basically puts us one win away from the semis. We know what we have to do and know we can do the job. We came here to win the tournament and that is still the focus of this team,” said the 27-year-old.

Jamaica started with a thrilling two-wicket win in the final over against CCC followed by an impressive victory by 50 runs against Sussex Sharks. In the third match against Group B leaders Barbados they were bowled out for 95 to lose by 62 runs.

“In this tournament when Jamaica have been good we have been very, very good, but when we lost it didn’t look very good. We lost the match to Barbados but that’s the end of the road. We know where we went wrong. We didn’t bowl that badly, but then we didn’t bat well and that cost us. We have to get back up and be ready for this match and the semi-finals and then the final. We had some good training time and we are ready.”

Santokie has tormented batsman with his superb variations since the Caribbean T20 started in 2010. Overall he has played 19 T20 career matches and managed 42 wickets at an average of 8.92 each. This year he has again performed well and is the tournament’s joint leading wicket-taker with eight wickets at 8.37 runs each and an economy rate of just 5.58 runs per over.

“There is no secret to my bowling. I just go to the nets and work hard on all my variations, especially the slower ball as the change of pace is a vital asset in Twenty20 cricket. There is some luck sometimes. In every sport you need a bit of luck, but you have to create that luck by building pressure on the batsmen. The key at the end of the day is to adjust to the situation and make sure you are thinking one step ahead of the batsman. Dot balls are crucial,” Santokie said.

The Caribbean T20 continues on Thursday at Kensington Oval with matches in Group A. Defending champions Trinidad & Tobago face Canada at 4 pm (3 pm Jamaica Time), while group leaders Windward Islands meet Guyana in a key encounter at 8 pm (7 pm Jamaica Time).