Windies seek to revive Oval memories

WEST INDIES have fond memories of playing in the Champions Trophy, famously winning the tournament in 2004 at The Oval, the venue where they will begin their campaign today.

altChris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, and Ramnaresh Sarwan played that game almost nine years ago and are part of a side that can go all the way in this competition.
West Indies seemed to gel well under the leadership of Darren Sammy, who led them to the World Twenty20 title, but poor returns in the ODI format resulted in Bravo’s appointment  to replace him as captain in 50-over cricket.
This Champions Trophy will be Bravo’s first major assignment, starting against opponents who have consistently been strong contenders in ICC tournaments, while the West Indies could have some tough choices to make.
They have plenty of depth in their batting, and it will be interesting to see if they pick Sammy in the playing XI. They opened with Sarwan in the ODI series against Zimbabwe in February, but Johnson Charles is fresh from two straight half-centuries in the warm-ups.
“We are really looking forward to it. I just can’t wait to get the first game out of the way.  It’s my first time as captain in a major tournament as this, and I have a very good team and good players and I’m looking forward to leading the guys out on the park,” the 29-year-old Bravo said yesterday.
“We are really excited about the tournament on the whole. Our aim is to get off to a good start. That is the most important thing in a short tournament like this, to try to win the first game. It’s a very good team we’re coming up against and we have to play our best cricket in order to be successful.”
The Windies Number 47 added: “We’re going to try to make sure that we have the best batting line-up to try to counter their bowling attack. We have the best batsmen in the world, so they’ll be aware of that also.  “So, yeah, it should be a very good game.  If both teams actually turn-up on this day, it will be a cracker of a game and hopefully it will be good for the fans.
Even though Pakistan are missing players who’ve been key members of their side in the past, and just barely managed to beat Ireland ahead of the Champions Trophy warm-ups, they’ve grown accustomed to the conditions and have a strong bowling attack to defend competitive scores.
Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan have been dropped; Umar Gul is out due to injury, but Mohammad Hafeez has been solid at the top of the order and there’s the experience of Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq in the middle, along with Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan who have been impressive as seamers.
Pakistan managed to play just one warm-up game, after their first was washed out and gave Umar Amin a go in the middle order, but it remains to be seen if he’s picked today.
A defeat is a significant setback in a short competition such as this, so expect both sides to be high on intensity, also in part because of the support they are likely to receive at the ground and the West Indies in their pomp, were best supported at The Oval when they played in England, and Pakistan are never short of followers wherever they go.

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