Glamorgan coach Toby Radford backs West Indies

Glamorgan coach Toby Radford believes his former West Indies side have a good chance of defending their World Twenty20 title.

Radford, who was installed as Matthew Mott’s successor at Glamorgan last October, was part of the West Indies coaching staff who helped guide the Caribbean outfit to the world crown two years ago.

The tournament starts today with hosts Bangladesh playing Afghanistan with Radford extolling the West Indies’ virtues.

“I think they have got a good chance again,” said Radford.

“It will be interesting to see the type of pitches in Bangladesh, because when I was with them and they won in Sri Lanka last time, we thought the pitches would spin but they didn’t which suited the West Indies.

“If the Bangladesh pitches are anything like that it could suit the way the West Indies play.

“They have a side made for T20 cricket. They have a lot of explosive batsmen at the back end of the innings like Darren Sammy.

“They also have Chris Gayle at the top of the order and a mystery spinner in Narine, so they have all the bases covered. I would like to see them do well again because they are a good bunch of lads and I am still in touch with them.”
Radford believes the Australians could provide the most competition for the defending champions.
“The way Australia are performing in all formats you would fancy them in anything at the moment,” added Radford.
“They are so full of confidence and they have brought some older players into the squad to provide some experience.”
Radford admitted an injury-affected England squad low on confidence could struggle.

England have had a tough time and have probably been knocked down a couple of pegs this winter,” added Radford. “They have had a hard winter out in Australia. They won the 50-over series against the West Indies which they will be happy with. “I would not say this is their strongest suit so England are looking to find their best T20 balance.
“Josh Buttler and Eoin Morgan are the guys you want at the crease as long as possible.”
Radford was an assistant coach with the West Indies after helping Middlesex claim the domestic T20 crown in 2008.
He admits helping the Windies lift the T20 trophy was the highlight of his coaching career so far.
“It was probably my best day so far in coaching,” he added.
“The excitement of the day and working up towards it and enjoying it with the squad.
“It was a special day and something you will never forget. Watching Chris Gayle doing the Gangnam Style was memorable.
“I gave it a go and was never any good at it and luckily it was not caught on camera.”
Radford has since moved onto try and revive Glamorgan’s fortunes with the pre-season programme of matches starting on Wednesday against Gloucestershire at Bristol.
Glamorgan return to the Swalec Stadium to host the West Country side in a two-day contest at their Cardiff headquarters on March 20 and 21.
Glamorgan will then meet Cardiff MCCU in a one-day contest at the Swalec Stadium on Monday, March 24 before travelling to Worcestershire for another one-day match at Kidderminster seven days later.
The official first-class season begins on Tuesday, April 1 when Glamorgan stage a three-day match against Cardiff MCCU before the county championship opener against Graeme Smith’s Surrey at the Oval on April 6.