LUCKNOW, India, CMC – Head coach Phil Simmons says he wants West Indies to display the same high level of intensity shown in the one-day series when they take on Afghanistan in the three-match Twenty20 series bowling off here today.
The Caribbean side completely outplayed Afghanistan to come away with a 3-0 whitewash, and record their first one-day series win in five years.
“It’s going to be a similar game plan but then we have to make sure we are as intense and up for it as we were with the ODIs. We have to counteract all their weapons and then give ourselves a chance to win,” Simmons said here yesterday.
“We’re calling for that same level of intensity and just that attitude in all formats now because that’s what you need. You need that attitude as a team, as a squad to have that intensity and have that respect for the game you’re playing and therefore you have to put everything into it.”
He added: “Their attitude has been great. I can’t fault them in their preparation. Even today, it’s the only day the T20 squad are together and everyone look like they’re into things and they want to do well. They want to do well for West Indies cricket.”
West Indies have dominated the Afghans in the T20 format, winning three of the four previous meetings. The only loss came at the T20 World Cup in 2016 when they slipped to a shock six-run defeat.
However, though carrying the label of reigning world champions, West Indies have struggled in the shortest format in recent times, losing 15 of their last 19 outings.
And with the T20 World Cup in Australia already on the horizon, Simmons said the Afghanistan series would signal the start of preparation.
“It is the first of 21 [T20s] coming up between now and the World Cup and it’s the start of our plans,” he explained.
“The guys who are in there have the first opportunity and it’s up to them to hold on to it until we get to naming that final 15 for the World Cup. The plan has started and we’ll see how we play in this [series] and see who comes in, who falls out and by the time we get to August we should be knowing who are our best 15, 16 players.”
The T20 squad has seen the return of veterans Denesh Ramdin and Lendl Simmons, while seamer Kesrick Williams has been recalled following a period on the sidelines.
However, they will be without key left-hander Nicholas Pooran who was yesterday slapped with a four-match ban by the International Cricket Council for ball tampering, the incident occurring during last Monday’s final ODI.
All-rounder Kieron Pollard will be in his first series as captain since replacing Carlos Brathwaite, and Simmons said judging from the ODI series, he had already made a difference in the unit.
“He has been extremely professional with everyone. He has let everyone know what he expects of them and we’ve made sure the intensity has to be there in everything we do,” Simmons pointed out.
“And it’s showed on the field – guys were running around and diving about so there’s a certain amount of respect for Polly in the fact that he’s stood up said ‘right, this is the way we want to do things and this is the way we’re going to do it.’
“And we’ve started well, let’s hope that the start of a long tenure and a successful tenure.”
SQUADS:
WEST INDIES – Kieron Pollard (captain), Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, Brandon King, Fabian Allen, Hayden Walsh Jr, Jason Holder, Lendl Simmons, Khary Pierre, Sheldon Cottrell, Denesh Ramdin, Kesrick Williams, Alzarri Joseph.
AFGHANISTAN – Rashid Khan (captain), Asghar Afghan, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Yamin Ahmadzai, Naveen-ul-Haq, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman.
