Up against it

– Chris Gayle‘s West Indians must fight to avoid a series sweep by Sri Lanka and a historical series win

From Garth Wattley in Port of Spain

Will Sewnarine Chattergoon make his eagerly awaited debut today? (Cricinfo photo)In 2003, Steve Waugh’s Australians were denied a Caribbean whitewash by the West Indies’s successful world record pursuit of 418 in Antigua.

In 2004, Michael Vaughan’s Englishmen had a clean sweep snatched from them by Brian Lara’s world record 400 not out also at the Antigua Recreation Ground.

Starting today at the Queen‘s Park Oval, in April 2008, Chris Gayle and his unit face the challenge of stopping Mahela Jayawardene’s Sri Lankans from completing a 2-0 series shut out.

“They’ve got everything to lose, we’ve got everything to gain,” was how Jayawardene aptly summed up today’s match to the media yesterday.