News

Windies chasing victory in 2nd Digicel ODI

06/03/10

2nd Digicel One-Day International
Venue: Guyana National Stadium, Providence
Date: Saturday March 6, 2010
First ball: 9:30 am (8:30 am Jamaica Time)

West Indies have it all to do on Saturday as they strive to stay alive against Zimbabwe in the five-match Digicel One-Day International Series. The Windies fell to two-run defeat in a close encounter on Thursday, but have promised to bounce back in the second match.
On the other hand, the visitors will be looking to put the home side under greater pressure and take a 2-0 lead.

In the opening match, West Indies batted well at the top of the order, with skipper Chris Gayle and teenager Adrian Barath adding 99 for the first wicket. Barath made 50 with four boundaries and a six in his first ODI innings. The pint-sized right-hander indicated he will be eyeing for another significant score in the second contest. This time around he will aim to bat through the innings in search of victory.

“We have discussed many plans in the dressing room with the new coach and one of those things is that someone in the top order needs to bat through if we are to get a winning score. I got a start in the first match, but I got out just after reaching 50. I got out at a crucial stage so this time around I will be looking to consolidate and bat right through,” said Barath, who made a superb century on Test debut in Australia last year.

“The pitch can a bit tricky. It’s a bit slow and the ball was not coming on to the bat so you had to be patient and work hard. That’s what international cricket is all about so I’m prepared to stick it out and do the hard work to get a good score for the team. We were all disappointed with the result in the first match so we know we have to put things right in the second match.”

As Zimbabwe celebrated the victory in the first match they have also prepared themselves for a Windies fightbackHowever skipper Prosper Utseya said they will continue to play to their strength, which is spin bowling.

“It is important that we don’t get too excited with these two victories because there are still four more games to go and we believe West Indies will come hard at us the next time. We sit down and do our homework. We try and focus on our strengths. Our strength is bowling spin,” he said.

Teams
West Indies: Chris Gayle (captain), Adrian Barath, Andre Fletcher, Shiv Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Denesh Ramdin, Sulieman Benn, Nikita Miller, Kemar Roach, David Bernard, Darren Sammy, Ravi Rampaul.
 
Zimbabwe: Posper Utseya (captain), Hamilton Masakadza, Vusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Brendan Taylor, Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Greg Lamb, Shingirai Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri,, Ray Price, Charles Coventry, Kyle Jarvis, Chris Mpofu, , Timycen Maruma.

Umpires: Simon Taufel, Clyde Duncan
Television umpire: Norman Malcolm
Fourth official: D Samraru
ICC Match referee: Roshan Mahanama