MELBOURNE, Australia, CMC – West Indies’ final preparation for the qualifying phase of the T20 World Cup hit a snag yesterday when rain forced the abandonment of their last official warm-up match against the Netherlands.
The fixture at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was the second of two warm-up matches and represented the Caribbean side’s final chance for a match scenario ahead of their opening game of the qualifiers against Scotland in Hobart next week.
On Monday, West Indies beat United Arab Emirates by 17 runs in their opening warm-up match at the Junction Oval here.
That followed a 2-0 series defeat to hosts and World champions Australia in games played in Gold Coast and Brisbane the previous week.
“I’m looking at the first game and the first game is against Scotland on the 17th and that’s where we are focussing now,” head coach Phil Simmons indicated ahead of the first warm-up.
“When we finish with that one we focus on the next one so right now it’s about sharpening up and making sure we are ready on the 17th for the start of our tournament.”
West Indies take on Zimbabwe on October 19 in their second qualifier before wrapping up against Ireland two days later. The two-time former World champions have been installed in Group B of the eight-team qualifiers, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the main draw which gets underway on October 22 in Sydney.
