… Gayle calls for local fans to rally around the West Indies
RETURNING West Indies team captain Chris Gayle and the visiting Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya both are optimistic that today’s Digicel One-Day International (ODI) will be very exciting, giving the significance it holds to them.
The Zimbabweans are coming into the game booming with confidence after gaining a 26-run win over the Windies in last Sunday’s Twenty20 match in Trinidad and Tobago.
According to Zimbabwe captain Prosper  Utseya, his side will not be basking in that glory for too long given the fact that their clash today is in a different format of the game and also it marks the return of the hard-hitting Gayle.
“Our team morale is very high but we know that Gayle has returned and he is one of the top players in the world so we know that we can’t be complacent. We believe if we play our good cricket, we could come out with the win. The guys have been here before, we might be young in age but we have played some international cricket. We have the experience, all we need to do is play well,” said Utseya.
Zimbabwe, whose cricket has been in turmoil in recent years, is in a rebuilding process just as their Caribbean counterparts. The Africans during last year have been playing their limited over matches mainly against Bangladesh winning four out of the 14 matches.
“We struggled with the bat in the game on Sunday but the guys have been working hard since we got here and I think once we take care of the basics like our bowling and especially our batting I think we’ll be able to do well tomorrow (today) said the Zimbabwe captain.
West Indies Gayle who has scored two centuries against Zimbabwe in 15 matches believes that the game is wide open and will go to the team that plays the better cricket.
He said, “It’s been a long summer for us, you know, we just came back from Australia and then went into the T20 against Zimbabwe; it’s been a long series and things haven’t been going too well for us but at the same time there’s a lot for us to actually pick up from and then try and regain that on our winning ways again.”
The confidence level of the squad is high notwithstanding the fact that they had a dismal showing ‘Down Under’.
“We are looking to start on a winning note, and then try and gain that momentum. What we have discussed in our team meeting is: we say look, losing so many games sometimes, you can get accustomed to losing and it would be more difficult to get a win under our belt. They (Zimbabwe) are here to play cricket, like I have said, they have beaten teams bigger than us before, if that does happen it’s that they played the better cricket and they deserve to win. That’s how the game of cricket plays. You have two teams looking to win but it’s only who plays the better cricket”.
Gayle went on to state that they “have to try and get it (losing) out of our system, I know the period of time is short and we might still be hurting but we need to get it out of the way and look at it in a positive way. This is a new sheet, just take every game serously and see what happens.
The Jamaican Gayle will be playing his first match under new head coach Ottis Gibson who he noted has a good rapport with the squad and himself, adding, “It has been really good so far, like I said to the guys, we will have to adapt to the changes to get results. He has certainly brought a lot to the table and we will accept it and help to build back West Indies cricket”.
Gayle also made a solid plea to the West Indies fans here in Guyana to come out and rally around the maroon caps despite their losing ways recently.
“I know the fans are not too happy at this time, but we still need that sort of support, you know, we still want them to come out and support the cricket,” Gayle mentioned. “I know things are not going as expected, but we all are frustrated as players, we know it’s tough, but give us some time because we definitely can rebuild and get things back on track. A lot of players are out at this time, so it would take time, it wouldn’t happen overnight, but the game would be competitive as I said before, but we would like to have the support,” said Gayle.