Perry thrilled by West Indies call (11 March 1999)

11 March 1999

Perry thrilled by West Indies call

The Jamaica Gleaner

Jamaica offspinner Nehemiah Perry is thrilled to be selected in the West Indies 13-man squad for the second Test match against Australia at Sabina Park on Saturday.

"Obviously, I am excited ... happy to be selected in the 13," Perry said yesterday.

"However, I am a bit cautious. My next aim is to get into the final XI and if that happens, I hope to go out there and do my best," he said.

The 30-year-old Perry, who captured 25 wickets in this season's Busta Cup competition, hopes to make a big impact if given the chance to make his Test debut.

"Test cricket is a much higher level than the Busta Cup competition. If I get a game, I will be bowling to better batsmen and therefore I cannot afford to make a lot of mistakes," Perry said.

"I will have to try not to bowl many bad balls and keep them under pressure if I hope to be successful," he said.

Perry, who made his first-class debut for Jamaica in 1987 against Guyana, said despite the time spent playing regional cricket without getting into the Test team, he never gave up hope of playing for the West Indies.

"I never gave up. I am always optimistic. This season, I knew that I had a chance of making the team if I did well in the Busta Cup because the West Indies team was having quite a few problems," he said.

"I went out there, got quite a number of wickets, made a couple of half centuries, improved my fielding and that is probably why I was selected."

Source :: The Jamaica Gleaner (https://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/)