da fazobetai： Fast bowler Nixon McLean yesterday became the third West Indies Testcricketer to sign a contract to play provincial cricket in SouthAfrica in the coming season
da bet esporte： Tony Cozier18-Sep-2001Fast bowler Nixon McLean yesterday became the third West Indies Testcricketer to sign a contract to play provincial cricket in SouthAfrica in the coming season.South African international Jonty Rhodes, a former captain of McLean’snew team, KwaZulu-Natal, said he was "delighted" with the signing andcharged that the West Indies had never got the best out of the 28-year-old Vincentian."Nixon has real pace and bowls for wickets, not maidens, but when theywere on tour over here (1998-99), the West Indies would give the newball to Walsh and Ambrose and were then looking for maidens fromNixon," Rhodes said in an interview with the Natal Witness newspaper."He couldn’t take the pressure of having to keep it tight, especiallysince they were being hammered 5-0," he added. "He’s a fiery guy whowants to come roaring in and that will be his role in Natal with thenew ball."McLean is on a one-year contract for the season that starts in justunder a month. He replaces another West Indian, Barbadian all-rounderOttis Gibson, who has played several seasons in South Africa but whowithdrew from an earlier arrangement to join the province for thefirst time. Like former West Indies captain Jimmy Adams, who has beentaken on to captain Free State, and fast bowler Franklyn Rose, whowill be with Gauteng (formerly Transvaal), McLean’s decision indicatesa recognition that his Test career is effectively over.He has taken 44 wickets in 19 Tests but was dropped after two Testsagainst South Africa in the Caribbean last season. He was subsequentlyomitted from the recent tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya, even after fastbowlers Merv Dillon, Cameron Cuffy and Kerry Jeremy had to return homebecause of injuries.Rhodes noted that McLean is "fit and strong, with a fantastic physiquefor a fast bowler"."He’s tall, so he’s going to get good bounce," he predicted. "He’llenjoy the pitches over here, especially since the pitches forprovincial games, which are prepared for four days, not five, arenormally `result’ wickets, unlike at Test level, where it’s more a warof attrition.""I think it’s a great effort to sign a genuine fast bowler who’s gotplenty to prove and won’t come over and coast," Rhodes said.
