Ashton Turner Hopes Return To Bowling Will Increase His T20 World Cup Chances

Australian all-rounder Ashton Turner hopes that bowling would give him an edge ahead of the T20 World Cup. Australia faces an uphill task to get past the group stage of the T20 World Cup later this year in the UAE, placed with the West Indies, England, and South Africa in Group B. Thus, Ashton Turner stated he always loved bowling and believes he can contribute in spin-friendly conditions.

Ashton Turner underwent multiple shoulder surgeries, more notably a couple of years ago, impeding his ability to bowl. However, the 28-year old resumed bowling his off-spin in the last two ODIs against the West Indies recently, delivering economical and wicket-taking overs. Turner took figures of 8-1-23-1 and 6-0-37-1 in the final two games. Hence, he could be useful in the UAE, where the conditions are likely to support spin-bowling.

Ashton Turner revealed he has always loved bowling; however, his shoulder surgeries have not supported his arm to bowl. But the Western Australian said that two years after those surgeries, he feels good about his bowling. Turner also conceded he trained a lot behind the scenes and it worked for him that the pitches in the West Indies supported spin-bowling. Hence, he hopes to see an increase in his bowling workload in the upcoming T20 series in Bangladesh.

“Bowling is something I’ve always loved and unfortunately due to my shoulder injuries I haven’t been able to contribute much in games,” he said. “It’s been almost two years since my last operation, so I feel as good about my bowling as I have in a long time. Although I haven’t been able to bowl a lot in games, behind the scenes I’ve been working a lot at training and it’s nice in conditions that suited spin bowling and to be another option for the captain. Hoping that my bowling workloads can increase from here,” Turner stated as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo.

I’m fortunate that for a number of years now I’ve been able to experience some close games: Ashton Turner

Ashton Turner also stated that training in nets can’t be the same as being in pressure situations and feels fortunate to experience some close games as a middle-order batsman. The right-handed batsman believes he is more confident of handling those pressure moments.

“There’s no secret until you’ve been able to walk out in high-pressure situations and perform, training can’t replicate that pressure. I’m fortunate that for a number of years now I’ve been able to experience some close games in the middle order and try to finish innings. With that experience, comes confidence and that’s not something that can be found at training,” he added.

Also Read: SLC To Host ‘Invitational T20 League’ From August 12