THE West Indies speak with the confidence and self-assuredness of winners, England speak seemingly quite upbeat, likened to a force that will once again regain their ascendancy and power.

From all indications the Windies will be looking to maintain that power and advantage over the touring English squad at all costs. England, on the other hand, have found themselves precariously poised as the tournament enters its final phase.

The English came to the Caribbean with the swagger of a world class team higher in the rankings than West Indies, and many in the English media felt that the Digicel series would have been a warm-up tour for when they have to square off against the Australian team in the Ashes Series.

Was this the loophole that the West Indies needed to win the five-match Test series 1-0 and regain the Wisden Trophy after 11 years? Perhaps! Subsequently, the WI won the solitary Twenty20 match, played the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad & Tobago, by six wickets to further prove some detractors wrong.

Now, as the first of five one-day international approaches on Friday at the Guyana National Stadium the WI team seem quite confident that they are going to continue with the same momentum they have shown throughout the Digicel series.

West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy, speaking to the media prior to the team’s workout session yesterday at the world-famous GCC Bourda ground, said that he is proud to be part of the “winning team”.

“After winning a Test series and the Twenty20, the guys are very energetic and you can see a very confident West Indies team as we have demonstrated in the Test series and after in the Twenty20 match,” explained Sammy.

“The coach has asked us to keep the momentum, transfer it into the one-day series and go forward from there”.

While Sammy was cognisant of the team’s success he quickly put things into perspective when he said that cricket is played on the field. The team has been running on the adrenaline of its most recent success but Sammy has stated that the squad is firmly rooted in reality and complacency would not become an option.

“We have to keep our feet on the ground. Cricket is played on the day and if we don’t go out there (on the field) and execute our plans in bowling, batting and fielding we will lose. So we definitely have to keep that momentum and execute our plan for us to be successful against England,” elaborated Sammy.

Sammy also explained that the regional team will be looking to keep England in the quandary that they currently find themselves, especially since they will be seeking their first win in the series. He said that the team will use this psychological advantage that it has to be a stronger unit and maintain the strength for the rest of the series.

“We will try our best not to give England a win especially since they have held the Wisden Trophy for over nine years and now we have a chance to grind them.

“A lot of the guys are looking forward to playing in the upcoming one-day series and coming out with a win,” the wily fielder stated.

When asked whether the win is a boost, Sammy stated that it was, but the team will be taking everything in stride and will focus on one thing at a time.

“Change doesn’t come overnight. You (We) have to continue playing well along with being consistent in all disciplines of cricket and hopefully, I would say it is the step in the right direction for WI cricket and that is the way we are going to be successful,” Sammy stressed.

Meanwhile, part-time wicketkeeper Steve Rhodes, in a press conference at the Pegasus Hotel yesterday morning, stated that the team will be looking to reverse the tables on the WI. He stated that they were talks in team meetings to discuss their strategies.

“Nets have been going well and we will be doing something about what has happened in the series,” he quipped.

On the other hand, captain Chris Gayle who suffered a hamstring strain in the final Test match of the series in T&T after he reached his century was going through his paces with the WI team physiotherapist CJ Clarke and from all indications he seemed quite relaxed.

The other players seemed quite happy as they worked out with Steve Forbes.