CARDIFF, Wales, CMC – West Indies will test their preparation for the ICC Champions Trophy when they clash with Australia in their first official warm-up at the SWALEC Stadium here today.
The 2004 champions arrived here last Sunday and have been engaged in a camp in the Welsh capital ever since, putting the finishing touches on their preparation for the June 6-23 campaign.
This follows on from a five-day camp in Barbados last week.
Big-hitting opener Chris Gayle said yesterday he believed the Windies had the ability to spring a surprise in the tournament, similar to that of nine years ago.
“We can [win it] definitely. Last time, no one thought we would have won here nine years ago in England based on the conditions here, and that it would have been difficult for the West Indies boys based on this kind of weather,” Gayle told reporters.
“We can use that as a positive and we can use the T20 World Cup as a positive as well, as we won that last year. The guys have been playing a lot of cricket so we have a great bunch of guys here. It’s a good all-round team so I don’t see any reason why we can’t go all the way.”
West Indies are expected to have a sober test when they face the Australians, at whose hands they suffered a whitewash in a five-match series Down Under last January.
Much will be expected from Gayle who along with fellow Jamaican Marlon Samuels will carry the burden of the West Indies batting.
Gayle, who had another bumper campaign in the Indian Premier League including memorable 175 for Royal Challengers, said even though there was pressure to perform, he was focusing solely on making sure the team achieved its goals. “There is definitely pressure. Even when I scored the 175, everyone was like looking forward to 200 – and that was in a T20 game. So the expectation there from the fans is actually huge,” he related.
“[However] I set targets from a team perspective. I try to give the team a good start and this is going to be key in these conditions, especially as an experienced opener. That’s key for us in the batting department to get that particular start, bat as many overs as possible, try and be there for long and once I am there I know runs will come.”
West Indies will do battle in Group B of the tournament alongside reigning World champions India, South Africa and Pakistan, in what is already being branded the ‘group of death’.
Australia, meanwhile, will clash with New Zealand, Sri Lanka and hosts England in Group A, with the top two from each group qualifying for the semi-finals.
Gayle said an added motivation for the Windies to do well was the large West Indian community in the United Kingdom.
“We have a good fan base here as well. There are a lot of West Indian supporters here so we have a lot to play for, not just back home but here in England as well. The West Indians are very passionate here,” said Gayle.
SQUAD – Dwayne Bravo (Captain), Denesh Ramdin (Vice-captain), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith.