Over the next five days of the first Digicel Test match against Pakistan, West Indies captain Darren Sammy will undergo a series of tests at the Guyana National Stadium.
After his team’s final warm-up session, Sammy said yesterday at his team’s press conference that he was confident in his own abilities and that of his players, stating that the Caribbean side can beat the higher ranked Pakistan side in the two-match series.
While Sammy acknowledged that the side lost the five-match ODI series he was adamant that Test cricket is a different format and said that the cricketing public should wait to see what the team is capable of.
Sammy asserted that he does not believe the players are short of talent and therefore, he believes that “the guys are capable” of producing the desired results for a team that is being groomed for future success by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). He highlighted the bowling attack, which has showed signs of taking 10 wickets in the shorter version of the game but struggled in the longer game.
He indicated that this will be the opportunity for the bowlers to take 20 wickets and says he hopes the batsmen will use this series as a means to occupy the crease. “We have to focus for longer periods, have to keep the momentum and certainly win the crucial moments of the match,” the St. Lucian stated.
He added: “Obviously I always go out there trying my best and I would like to do much better although I always go out there (on the field) under pressure. But certainly, I am happy with the team and I hope that the players will go out there for this series and play for the West Indies.”
These sentiments were echoed against the background that the Regional team is defending a record of never losing to Pakistan at home. Pakistan visited the Caribbean on six occasions and have never won a series. Further, if the Windies win the series they will move to sixth in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings.
“We believe we can win the series. We believe this because we have worked hard in the build-up to the series and we know we have the ability to perform on home turf and get the better of the Pakistanis. “We saw an improved batting performance in the last two matches of the one day series and everyone in the team is feeling confident and fully prepared,” he added.
“We hope all the hard work we have been doing in the nets and the two-day warm-up match a few days ago will be transferred into the middle. The way our bowling has been coming along in the last six months in one day cricket and on the tour of Sri Lanka – we know we are capable of getting 20 wickets”,” Sammy emphasised.
When quizzed about the team’s batting Sammy said that it must be emphasised that there has been an improved batting performance in the last two ODI matches of the five-match Digicel home series. Further, he indicated that ever since the appointment of Desmond Haynes the tactical aspects have been regularised in net sessions but he hopes that this can be transformed into the match situation.
If this is done, Sammy believes that Pakistan can be beaten. The team will also be going into today’s first game with the return of middle order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was axed for the ODI series, and Marlon Samuels, who slammed a double century in the two-day practice matches over the weekend and has been away from all forms of cricket after alleged involvement with Indian bookmakers.
Meanwhile, when Sammy was asked again if he would step down from the captaincy after this series, since it was mentioned on several occasions that he was affecting the balance of the team, the St Lucian stated that until the “powers that be” who appointed him to the position decide, he will continue to serve at the top of the team.
