Winning Is A Habit That Coach Nixon Says Falcons Must Cultivate

By Neto Baptiste

Coach of the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, Paul Nixon, wants his team to get into the habit of winning, especially in matches where the outcomes are decided in the final over.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sport Show ahead of Friday’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) clash against the St Lucia Kings, Nixon reminded that winning is contagious and the players must believe they have what it takes.
“Winning can be a habit and we believe we’re going to win. We believe we’ve got a good side; we believe that we’ve got the skillset in all areas to do well, so yeah, we’re very positive and very confident. You play your A game probably once a competition but it’s about being smart and like every team that hasn’t won, you look to improve you; you review and you look to improve certain areas and a lot of it boils down to all the planning. You can do all the preparation you can do but ultimately, it’s about execution on the night,” he said.
Nixon, a former England wicketkeeper-batsman, believes the Falcons should be going into Friday’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) clash against the St Lucia Kings with a record of two wins in two matches.
The Falcons, after winning their opening fixture by two wickets over the Jamaica Kings last Friday, went under by four runs to the Kings two days later after needing 13 runs off the final over. Reminding that cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties, Nixon said the team must improve in some key areas.
“I felt we should have won both games with an over to spare but you know, cricket’s a funny game and it’s sent to test us. As I tell our players, you’re never in the game and you’re never out the game; you’ve got to make sure that you do the basics well and we’ve probably let teams get fractionally too many runs against us. We’ve got to look at our depth bowling as well because that’s gone for too many runs in the last couple of games. Both times, in the last four overs, we’ve gone for 50-plus so that’s just too many,” he said.
The St Lucia Kings currently enjoy a 100 percent winning record against the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons after a total of four clashes in the tournament.
Friday’s game bowls off at 7:00 p.m. at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium. The Falcons play their first home game on August 20th when they face the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.