WITH their talismanic skipper and opening batsman Christopher Gayle back in the team, the West Indies should be looking to redeem themselves in the first Digicel limited overs international at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, today.
Having gone under to their opponents by 26 runs in the one-off Twenty20 at the Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago, last Sunday without Gayle, the Windies should be brimming with confidence, knowing that their skipper, who is one of the most feared openers in world cricket, is back in the fray.
With coach Ottis Gibson also informing the media that his charges will be going hard at their opponents, certainly, the home team should be looking to gain back the votes of confidence from their millions of fans not only in the Caribbean, but the world over with a resounding series victory.
Prior to their tour to Australia where they took on the home team in five one-day internationals and two Twenty20, Gayle had predicted a 4-1 victory for his team, something he said was a one off prediction that was intended to serve as a motivator for the regional side.
“The team that plays the better cricket will win the trophy. I know we are coming off a long summer tour from Australia, but what is needed at this moment is a big ton from any particular player and once we play good cricket, we can beat Zimbabwe in a series that is being used as a rebuilding process for us,” stated Gayle.
He further stated, “When we went back to Australia for the limited overs series, my prediction that we will come away with a 4-1 victory was intended to serve as a motivator for the guys, even though it was a one off thing. I am not going to do so now, but rather say that the team that plays the better cricket can be the victorious one.”
First and foremost on the mind of the skipper, would be the team’s start, which means himself and his opener, either Adrian Barath or Adrian Fletcher’s work is cut out and with Gayle himself admitting he needs to get a solid start not only for the team but himself, Zimbabwe had better be on the lookout for an onslaught.
Gayle is capable of dominating any international attack once he gets going, and has a prolific record against Zimbabwe, with over 1 000 runs – including two hundreds – against them in 15 matches.
The number three position will be occupied by the dependable Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who on any given day can take the attack to the opposition bowler, something the Australian fast bowlers can attest to based on his sudden attack on them at the Georgetown Cricket Club, Bourda in 2003.
Though Dwayne Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan who had a brief knock with the team at the Guyana National Stadium yesterday, have not been included in the squad for the opening one-day game, West Indies will be boosted by Gayle’s return, and will also depend heavily on Chanderpaul’s extensive experience and calm batting.
With Gayle asking for a big innings, probably a ton from one of the batsmen, now is the time for either Dwayne Smith, Narsingh Deonarine who has been in tremendous form of late, to step up to the plate and do so.
The batting of Kieron Pollard and wicketkeeper/batsman Dinesh Ramdin leaves much to be desired and with the lean form being shown by Darren Sammy and David Bernard Jr, the Windies would certainly need to walk with their ‘A’ game or suffer another humiliating defeat.
But Sulieman Benn and Nikita Miller, along with Ravi Rampaul and Kemar Roach, are no rabbits with the bat, hence the lower order can readily rally around the West Indies top order, once they set their minds to it.
Gayle did say that the bowlers, though missing senior players Fidel Edwards, Jerome Taylor and Dwayne Bravo, have been pulling their weight, led by the fiery Roach, who tormented the Australians, especially skipper Ricky Ponting on the recent tour down under.
His new-ball partner in Rampaul, has been offering steady support along with the likes of Sammy and Miller, while Pollard and Smith are worthy customers with Gayle and Deonarine who recently snared four wickets for his club Albion Sports Club, offering their support in the spin department.
Zimbabwe’s skipper Prosper Utseya is already expecting his opposite number, whom he describes as one of the feared opening batsmen in the world, to have a go at his bowlers, but on the other hand, he knows chances will come their way and acknowledged that once those chances are taken, they can come out victorious once again.
“The guys are excited and looking forward to the game tomorrow (today). There is a nice camaraderie among the team, especially with the win on Sunday and knowing that the wicket won’t be the same as the one we played on last Sunday, all we have to do is take care of the basics and we can possibly come out victorious.”
Even though they won the 20/20, seven of Zimbabwe’s batsmen failed to trouble the scorer including Utseya himself, but thanks to the batting of the vice-captain Hamilton Masakadza and Greg Lamb who added 40 for the fifth wicket, along with Elton Chigumbura who made 34, ensured Zimbabwe passed the 100-run mark on a devilish pitch.
Their bowlers led by leg-spinner Graeme Cremer who snatched 3-11, with worthy support from Lamb, Utseya and Randy Price, ensured the resilient batting display put on by Masakadza and Chigumbura, did not go in vain as their team came away with the win.
A dominant force in Zimbabwean domestic cricket this season, Chigumbura as a member of the Zimbabwe team that toured the West Indies in 2006, and as a 20-year-old struck a 59-ball 60 at the Bourda Oval in Georgetown on that tour.
How well the West Indies have recovered from such a low blow for today’s game which gets under way at 09:35 h is left to be seen not only by the fans here in Guyana, but those in television land who will be watching the match live courtesy of SkySports.
SQUADS:
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 – Prosper 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.