News

Windies time to rise and shine as ODI Series starts

04/03/10

1st Digicel One-Day International

Venue: Guyana National Stadium, Providence

Date: Thursday, March 4, 2010

First ball: 9:30 am (8:30 am Jamaica Time)

West Indies captain Chris Gayle and Zimbabwe skipper Prosper Utseya paused from their training schedules on Wednesday to pose for pictures with the Digicel One-Day Series trophy. The two greeted each other and grabbed hold of the crystal trophy. Both will be hoping to be the man to take it home at the end of the fifth match on March 14 in St Vincent. The job starts now in Guyana and both captains have declared their players fit and ready for the five-match battle ahead.

 Zimbabwe got the upper hand in Digicel T20 International on Sunday in Trinidad, but the West Indies have promised to bounce back. Gayle knows his team needs a lift and believes he is the man to provide the winning touch and bring smiles back to the faces of Windies supporters.

 “This is a new sheet and we will be looking to start well. Whether we bat first or bowl first we will be looking to get off to a winning start. We be will be looking for change… we need a good start and we will see how the series will transpire from there. We have a lot to pick up from and we will be looking to get a winning start. It is the batting where we need to get better. We have not been getting that big hundred from any player that could push us to victory. That is what we need. The bowlers have been doing quite well for us … it’s the batting that needs to step up.” 

He added: “Both teams are in the re-building stage… they have beaten us in the past and respect is due to them. The key for us in this match and in this series is the runs on the board. We will definitely be looking to win this series. That’s a must for us. We need to dig ourselves out of this situation and look to move forward to bigger and better things. This is a perfect opportunity for players to stamp there authority and impress the selectors. The aim should be to deliver and grab all the opportunities with both hands.”

Utseya said the T20 victory was a good start to their tour but that is now history and they are focussed fully on the ODIs.

“We know the West Indies are a good team, but once we settle down and play good cricket, we know we can be tough for any opponent. I must say that I am impressed with the spinners who handled the situation effectively but there is some concern in the batting department, especially with seven of our batsmen failing to get off the mark. Having acknowledged this, we will still be looking to come out on top. There is still room for improvement in terms of how we think and we need to fix our mistakes. We don’t expect an easy game, and if we do our best, we will be successful.”

Teams

West Indies: Chris Gayle (captain), Adrian Barath, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Fletcher, Nikita Miller, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Dwayne Smith.

Zimbabwe: Posper Utseya (captain), Hamilton Masakadza, Elton Chigumbura, Charles Coventry, Graeme Cremer, Kyle Jarvis, Greg Lamb, Timycen Maruma, Shingirai Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Chris Mpofu, Ray Price, Vusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Brendan Taylor.

 Umpires: Simon Taufel, Clyde Duncan

Television umpire: Norman Malcolm

Fourth official: D Samraru

ICC Match referee: Roshan Mahanama