HAMILTON, New Zealand, CMC-West Indies manager Richie Richardson is encouraging his players to win the third test against New Zealand for suspended team-mate Shane Shillingford and fans around the world.
The International Cricket Council has banned Shillingford from bowling in international matches, after an independent biomechanical analysis conducted in Australia found his bowling action illegal.
The third Test starts tomorrow at Seddon Park here, and Shillingford has been ruled out.
“It has been a disappointment for us, but we realise it’s very important for us to focus on the Test match starting in a couple of days time,” said the Windies batting legend yesterday following a training session at the match venue.
“We need to win this Test match. We may not have Shane available to us, but we need to win it for him. Also we have millions of supporters who continue to stand up for us”.
Shillingford has been West Indies’ most successful bowler this year with 36 wickets at 24.72 runs apiece, currently placing him in the top-10 bowlers for the year in Tests.
He is in the Top 20 bowlers in the ICC Test Match Bowling Rankings.
“What’s happened, it’s sad, but you are playing the game at the highest level and the players cannot afford to head into the Test with too many things in the back of their minds,” said Richardson.
“They have to focus on what is ahead of them – which is to win this Test.”
Richardson said the visitors are working hard towards winning the third Test and level the series, after New Zealand took a 1-0 lead following victory by an innings and 73 runs in the second Test.
“The morale in the team is still very positive. The players are still in great spirits and we all know that we have to dig deep and work hard and win this Test,” said Richardson.
“We have been doing a lot of normal things. The coach has been meeting with the players, individually and in groups, and we have been training hard”.
