Australia's young spinners to be mentored by Samuel Badree
West Indies leg-spinner Samuel Badree, currently ranked the No.1 Twenty20 (T20) international bowler in the world, has been roped in by Cricket Australia to share his expertise in the art of spin bowling with the upcoming talent of Australia. He will be mentoring a group of 24 spinners who will take part in Cricket Australia’s spin bowling training camp in Brisbane in May. Players like Cameron Boyce, Clive Rose, Will Bosisto, Jason Floros and Beau Webster will be part of the squad.
Badree, considered to be T20 specialist, has taken 31 wickets from 22 T20 internationals for West Indies at an impressive average of 14.96. The 34-year-old hasn’t played any form of top-level cricket since October last year and will be assisting Cricket Australia's head spin coach John Davison.
Badree on being given the opportunity to develop the cricketing talent in Australia, said, "I am looking forward to being involved in this program to share my experiences and philosophies with the young spinners of Australia and hopefully impart something to them that would make them better players. It's my first visit to Australia as well and I look forward to the experience.
"My greatest success has been in the shorter versions of the game so I hope to impart knowledge based on that, the importance of control when bowling, adapting to different conditions and taking wickets through guile is crucial.
"I look forward to being part of the spin week and sharing reasons for success, the pressures of the international game, various T20 leagues and being the No.1 T20 bowler in the world."
Pat Howard, Cricket Australia's team performance manager expressed his joy on hiring Badree and said, "The knowledge and experience that Sammy Badree can share with our young spinners will be a quality extension to previous programs.
"The spin camp looks to extend the work being done in states and to challenge players on different ways to assess the game and grow personally.
"We're delighted to have Sammy join John Davison and some of the country's best young spinners for the week, and to build on the expertise Shane Warne and Muthiah Muralidaran have brought to our spin program in the last two seasons."