COACH of the West Indies team Ottis Gibson yesterday told a media briefing his team can be expected to go hard at the Zimbabweans tomorrow, when the two countries meet in the first of two one-day internationals at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
The West Indies, to the surprise of all and sundry, lost the one off Twenty20 by 26 runs at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad and Tobago and according to Gibson, his charges’ performance in the first half of the game was impressive.
“Our fielding and bowling was very good even though we did not win the game. There were lots of signs to be positive about and some issues that need to be addressed, with regard to our batting. As a team we do feel disappointed that we lost the game.
They (Zimbabwe) exploited the conditions in the pitch more than we, but having said that, our fans can expect us to go hard at them on Thursday (tomorrow).
Losing is never easy.  It is always hard to take. When I was with England last year, we lost to Holland who is far lower than the West Indies, in the International Cricket Council (ICC) World T20 competition, so defeats can be expected, but it is how you bounce back from it that speaks volumes of your cricket,” said Gibson.
The 40-year-old Barbadian who took over from Trinidad and Tobago’s David Williams at the commencement of the present series, said he was impressed with the team’s practice session at the Queenstown-based Demerara Cricket Club yesterday morning.
“Some of the batsmen are still low on confidence following the Australian tour, where on most occasions the batsmen won scenarios for us. Having said that, the success for winning starts at practice and we are gaining some amount of confidence from practice all the time, hence they need to be on the lookout for us tomorrow.
Apart from that, the presence of skipper Chris Gayle is an inspiration to the guys. He gives them a lift as if they are on cloud nine and with the guys understanding the role they need to play, especially the younger ones, I am satisfied with our practice session today.
Some of the guys understand how they need to play in certain situations and that what we practised today and I must say, judging from how they look, I am impressed with the way things have been going so far. “
When asked about complacency, which has been a humbug for West Indies cricket over the past decade and even more, after the Clive Lloyd and Sir Vivian Richards era, Gibson was quick to point out that there was no problem with complacency, even though the Regional side had their opponents on the ropes at 11-4 in the fifth over.
“I can confirm there was no complacency in the game on Sunday. That was one of the things that we talked about at the beginning and I have mentioned it a few times at interviews. We are not in a position to take anybody or anything lightly, hence I can safely say that complacency was definitely not an issue,” said Gibson.
While the West Indies were having a match simulation exercise at DCC, Zimbabwe, under the watchful eyes of bowling coach Heath Streak and consultant with the team David Haughton, were having a net session at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
Skipper Prosper Utseya in an invited comment, stated that his team would not be overconfident going into the match tomorrow, even though their confidence level would be high following the victory on Sunday. 
“We are trying not to be overconfident going into the game. We know the West Indies are a good team but once we settle down and play good cricket, we know we can be tough for any opposition on any given day.
Added to that, I must say I am impressed with the spinners who handled the situation effectively, but there is some concern in the batting department, especially with seven of our batsmen failing to get off the mark; but having said that, we will be looking to come out on top over them.”