(CMC) – Incumbent West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite said his side was eager to return to action after a four-month lay-off.
Brathwaite and company will start the new ICC World Test Championship cycle with two Tests against India, starting on July 12 in Dominica, and July 20 in Trinidad.
He and many of the other Test team hopefuls are currently attending a training camp at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua to prepare for the series, which also features the 100th Test between the two sides. “It’s important to start well,” Brathwaite said in an interview with CWI Media. “We are playing against India, so you know the guys are really looking forward to it.
‘Dominica will host the first Test match, and we call for the supporters in Dominica to come out and support us – but the guys are really looking forward to the first two Test matches of this cycle.”
He added: “That’s great you know in terms of the 100th Test match against the Indians, and it’s in Trinidad, and you know they love their cricket there, so I think it’s important, and we got to try to make the region proud.
“The guys have put some good effort in the last three days, and they still have a few days left and you know we got to keep pushing hard.”
Brathwaite said the training camp was going well, and it was critical for the players to make use of the time to plan how they will execute during the series.
“I think as a team, and as batsmen and bowlers, we already have those thoughts in mind about what to expect, and this is why preparation is very important,” he said.
“It’s all about how you prepare, knowing what we’re going to get in terms of conditions, we generally know how the surfaces will play, and we already know India’s team, so it’s important from now to mentally prepare, and understand the plans we want both as a bowling unit and as batters, so you know it will all come down to execution.”
