(WICB) Colombo, Sri Lanka – The West Indies will open their three match One Day International Series against Sri Lanka on Monday at the Sinhalese Sports
Club. The series will form the main preparation for both teams ahead of the
International Cricket Council’s Cricket World Cup 2011.
After Sunday’s training session, Windies skipper Darren Sammy outlined the
side’s plans for the series opener as well as the entire series. He noted
that the aim was to get off to a winning start and set the tone for the
three-match rubber.
First ball: Monday 9.30 am (12 midnight Eastern Caribbean Time/11 pm Sunday
Jamaica Time).
“This series is a new start for us. It would mean everything to the team to
get off to a winning start against the Sri Lanka in their own backyard.
There is all to play for and we will take the field confident that we can
win. A victory tomorrow (Monday) would set the tone for the series and would
also give us a boost ahead of the World Cup,” Sammy told local journalists.
“The pitch we will be playing on looks similar to the one we played on
against the President’s XI when we were here for the Test Series last
November. It is green but back then it did not do much so we will play
accordingly. We will be looking to play well in all three disciplines. The
Sri Lankans play really good cricket, especially at home, and we have to be
at our best.”
Speaking about the return of Ramnaresh Sarwan, the Guyanese right hander,
Sammy, who will captain the side in an ODI series for the first time, said:
“We are happy to have Ramnaresh back in the squad for this series and for
the World Cup. It is a massive boost for the team. He’s an outstanding
batsman and a very knowledgeable and experienced cricketer at the
international level.”
“We all know the calibre of player he is and he will add a lot of quality to
our batting line-up. I know he will give his best for the team and put his
best foot forward. We have a very good team spirit in the camp and Sarwan
has fitted in well on his return.
“Looking at the make-up of our squad we have a number of allrounders. It is
good to have players who can make match-winning contributions in more than
one department. We all have to go out and play according to the team plan
and stick to team goals,” the captain lamented.
Windies squad: Darren Sammy (captain), Chris Gayle, Adrian Barath, Devon
Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul,
Kieron Pollard, Carlton Baugh, Sulieman Benn, Nikita Miller, Ravi Rampaul,
Kemar Roach, Andre Russell.
TOUR SCHEDULE
West Indies in Sri Lanka
Jan 31 – 1st ODI at SSC, Colombo
Feb 3 – 2nd ODI at SSC, Colombo
Feb 6 – 3rd ODI at SSC, Colombo
West Indies World Cup Warm Up matches
Feb 12 – v Kenya at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Feb 16 – v Sri Lanka at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
West Indies World Cup Group B matches
Feb 24 – v South Africa (New Delhi)
Feb 28 – v Netherlands (New Delhi)
Mar 4 – v Bangladesh (Dhaka)
Mar 11 – v Ireland (Mohali)
Mar 17 – v England (Chennai)
Mar 20 – v India (Chennai)
