West Indies captain Darren Sammy has challenged his side to hit the ground running when they begin their three-Test series in New ZealandThe Windies go into the first Test in Dunedin tomorrow (Monday afternoon Caribbean time) looking to bounce back from a tough tour of India, in which they lost both Tests by an innings.
New Zealand will almost certainly prove less stubborn opposition, having not won a Test all year, but Sammy knows the tourists will have to adapt quickly to conditions vastly different to those they experienced in India.
“It’s the life of a professional sportsman,” Sammy said on www.windiescricket.com.
“One minute, you are in the hot and crazy fan atmosphere of India, and the next day you are in New Zealand, Dunedin, where the breeze can blow you off your feet.
“We won’t make any excuses. We will have to come and hit the ground running.
“People might say India did not go well for us, but this is a new challenge, a new chance to focus and finish the year on a high.
“We have a lot of respect for our opponents and we know New Zealand can be a very competitive side, especially at home. We recall that England were the number one side in the world when they visited last year and they drew 1-1. They found the cricket difficult, so we expect the same.”
Sammy knows the team will be under less media scrutiny than in India, when the sporting world was focused on Sachin Tendulkar’s last innings in international cricket.
“This is a different environment,” he said.
“In India, it’s cricket-crazy and it was all about Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell from the game and the media was all crazy. But here, it’s a bit more peaceful and guys can relax, not so many cameras in their face, and we can focus on the game of cricket.
“There are a number of guys that want to bounce back, myself included. I did not have a good time in India and I want to come out and reassert myself as a Test captain and player, and many of the players want to do the same following the humiliation in India.”
The Windies will be weakened by the absence of Kemar Roach through injury, meaning Tino Best is in line to lead the attack.
New Zealand will be looking for improvement after their last two Tests ended in consecutive draws in Bangladesh.
They have a doubt over batsman Kane Williamson, though, who has a thumb problem.
“It comes down to the medical staff and myself talking,” he said on www.stuff.co.nz.
“That’s what we need to discuss [the risk] because it won’t be 100 per cent and the way it can be managed still needs to be discussed depending on the recovery in the next few days.”
Aaron Redmond is poised to come into the team should Williamson not play (PA Sport0.