AFTER a shambolic batting display in their opening match of the World T20 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Head Coach Phil Simmons is confident West Indies has what it takes to rebound and come good in their second match on Tuesday against South Africa.

England routed West Indies for just 55 in 14.2 overs and chased it down in 8.2 overs.

Speaking at a virtual press conference on Sunday, Simmons stated, “I think everyone is looking forward to the next game because when you have a game like that, especially the opening game in the World Cup, everyone is looking forward to the next game, wishing it was tomorrow instead of two days away.”

“Everyone is looking forward to the next game and not because it is South Africa; it is a next game to make amends for what happened yesterday [Saturday], he added.

It was a humiliation for the men in maroon as 55 is their second-lowest total in Twenty20 Internationals and according to the coach, the inherent pride among the players is motivation to do well.

Their lowest total – 45 – came also at the hands of England at Warner Park, St. Kitts in 2019.

“There is a lot of pride in the team and the motivation for the next game is not going to be that hard, there is a lot of personal pride that comes into it, so that is what is going to motivate guys, that is what is going to life guys…we will come back strong, we will come back strong on Tuesday.”

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka joined the West Indies group, which also has Australia and New Zealand, which now many pundits have termed the ‘Group of Death’.

With only the top two teams from the two groups progressing to the semi-finals, every game now becomes key for the Caribbean men.

“Every game from now is extremely important, we need to look at every game as a final and try and play according to, and the message we want to put out is that we have learned from this defeat and we are assessing our situations of the game better.”

The start time for Tuesday’s match is 06:00hrs.

Squad: Kieron Pollard (capt), Nicholas Pooran (vice-captain & wk), Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher (wk), Chris Gayle, Akeal Hosein, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr

Reserves: Jason Holder, Gudakesh Motie, Sheldon Cottrell, Darren Bravo