Georgetown, Guyana – West Indies Team Manager Richie Richardson has praised the team for its fantastic showing in the First Digicel Test, which they won by 40 runs on Sunday. The Windies played outstanding cricket at the Guyana National Stadium to take a 1-0 lead Pakistan in the two-match rubber.
“I am very pleased with the way the team played and the way the team won the match. I thought Pakistan had the better part of the pitch but it was great to see the way our players applied themselves and went out there and played their hearts out. The bowlers stuck to the task and did a fantastic job. We also saw some resolute batting when it was required. So I’m very, very pleased for the team and the way they went about the job,” the former West Indies captain said.
“What we are trying to build is a team. We are working on the total team concept, where players will have the confidence to go out and perform and know they have a role to play. There is wonderful camaraderie among the players and the management staff and we are hoping for this to continue and for the team to continue the brilliant work on the field.”
Richardson added: “It is very important at this level, at any level, to have a very strong team. If you are going to depend on just two of three players you are not going to be consistent. Everyone stuck to the plans and it was a very impressive showing by individuals and by the team as a whole.”
The West Indies won the low-scoring match thanks to a brilliant fourth-day spell from skipper Darren Sammy, who won the Man-of-the-Match award for his match figures of 7-45. He received superb support from pacer Ravi Rampaul, who also took seven in the match and leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, who took four wickets in the first innings.
In the latest ICC Test match player rankings released on Monday, Sammy vaulted 16 places to rise to 29th position. Rampaul has jumped 36 places to the 58th spot after match figures of 7-75 while Bishoo has entered the top 100 in 81st place after figures of 4-68 and 0-56.
Richardson outlined that it was a total team effort and it was the hard work that went into the preparation for the match, which helped the team to deliver during the four days. The West Indies have now won the last three matches on this tour and will be looking for more success during the last Digicel Test in St Kitts which bowls off on Friday. “The players have all grown to appreciate that they have to mentally and physically prepared to play any format of the game and they have all bought into what the Head Coach Ottis Gibson and the Fitness Trainer hector Martinez-Charles have been doing,” Richardson added.
“We have started to see the positive results, but the road is a very long one and everyone is ready to give of their best. The fitter you are the more prepared you are, the more confident you become as a player and as a team. The players are beginning to believe in themselves a lot more and the players are beginning to show a lot more confidence. We just have to help them play well and develop that confidence and belief.”
