Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - Sport

Trinidad and Tobago spinner Dave Mohammed bites into his Stanford 20/20 championship ring. He'd also like to sink his teeth into another stint in the West Indies team. - Contributed

ON THE wild merry-go-round which West Indian spinners ride, Trinidad trundler Dave Mohammed is teetering on the brink of being spun off.

Fellow left-arm spinners Sulieman Benn of Barbados and Jamaican Nikita Miller as well as offspinning compatriot Amit Jaggernauth appear to have moved ahead of the Chinaman bowler in the fickle Test and one-day pecking order and things would appear to be bleak for the man nicknamed 'Tadpole'.

Confident

However, Mohammed is certainly not short on confidence and believes it's only a matter of time before he resumes his sporadic Test career which has so far reaped 13 wickets from five Tests at an average of 51.38.

"I rate myself number one as a Chinaman and googly bowler in the Caribbean. I am the best left-arm spinner/allrounder," the 28-year-old said at last week's Stanford 20/20 presentation ceremony in Port of Spain.

Mohammed could back up that claim by reciting his figures during Trinidad and Tobago's drive to the US$1 million prize.

The ebullient lefty claimed a series-leading 12 wickets for only 63 runs with a fine economy rate in the shortest version of the game of 4.20.

He capped off his efforts by wrecking Jamaica in the final, snaring 4-20 as Chris Gayle's side was bowled out for an inadequate 91.

"I believe after the 20/20, I put my hand up to be counted and now it is up to me to get more fit and disciplined and then I should be ready and rearing to go," Mohammed said. "Years upon years, I have been consistent right through and I believe at the right time I'll be there and given the chance to show my true potential and true power," he said.

Bigger fish

Mohammed's 20/20 heroics made him a lock for the 32-man Stanford Allstars squad from which a team will be chosen to take on an England side in November for a massive, winner-take-all US$20 million purse.

Despite the fact he could become an instant millionaire if he's in the winning XI in Antigua, Mohammed has bigger fish to fry as he wants to get back into the West Indies line-up.

Of course, the first thing he has to do is woo the West Indian selectors who have shown little faith and patience in slow bowlers since Lance Gibbs hung up his spikes in the late '70s.

Keep faith

"Everybody knows that spinners here haven't been given a fair chance to show their abilities, but we know we have to keep strong," he said. "Those sorts of things can break you down very easily. As spinners, we have to keep our faith and not let those sorts of things get into our heads. When w look around at the other (Test) teams in the world, they have their spinners and they give them a fair chance. We just have to be patient, keep working and keep our faith."