“It’s going to be tough.” So said West Indies cricket captain Chris Gayle after his team arrived at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport on Tuesday night. Gayle said that trying to stop the Sri Lankan batsmen during the upcoming test match up at the Providence Stadium would certainly not be an easy task.
“Well, we have top bowlers….Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards and these guys have been in the squad for a long time and we know it’s not going to be easy especially since the we know that the expectations are high among the local supporters.
“Basically we have the confidence to know that we have played test cricket long enough to know that we have to make the necessary adjustments against such a tough team and at the end of the day we will just have to plan well and go out there and just execute,” Gayle said.
The left-hander pointed out that the Sri Lankans had a good bowling attack even without Lasith Malinga, adding that his team would be looking forward to making the necessary adjustments to handle Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan who might be the leading wicket-takers in the Sri Lankan side.
He added: “They have a lot of experienced players in the batting department in the captain (Mahela Jayawardene) and (Kumar) Sangakkara to make up for the absence of Jayasuriya but what we will be looking to do is to match up and play our best cricket against them.”
Gayle told members of the media that introducing new players into the squad would benefit the team’s development and he was particularly hoping that the young players would capitalize on the opportunity that they have been given and try to
earn a permanent position on the team.
Gayle said that he had high expectations for Guyanese opening batsman Sewnarine Chattergoon who he hopes will continue to show his good form and take advantage of the familiar conditions in his home town.
“The team has not been selected as yet but Sewnarine Chattergoon has been playing good cricket lately and had a good tour of South Africa but unfortunately injury caused him to miss a few games.
“I know this is a good opportunity, playing at home in familiar conditions and if he gets the chance to be on the team I wish him all the best throughout the series,” the captain said.
Gayle also said that he would be bowling more often because of the ban imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Marlon Samuels.
Gayle and six other West Indian players namely Dwayne Bravo, Amit Jaggernauth, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Powell, Sulieman Benn, and Marlon Samuels who arrived on Tuesday night were all involved in a practice session yesterday at the GCC ground, Bourda.
