NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – West Indies’ fate in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup will be determined here tomorrow, when they clash with unbeaten South Africa in a must-win final game of the Super Eights.
The Caribbean side kept alive their hopes of reaching next week’s semi-finals courtesy of a resounding nine-wicket victory over minnows United States yesterday, but now face the ultimate task of beating the Proteas in an 8:30 pm fixture, in order to maintain their bid for an unprecedented third title.
Their defeat to England in their opening Super Eight game last Wednesday in St Lucia left them under pressure to win their remaining games, and seasoned off-spinning all-rounder Roston Chase said the Rovman Powell-led unit were under no illusions about what was ahead of them.
“We’re in form too and we’re going to be coming hard,” Chase said ahead of the clash at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium.
“So we’ll collide, and whoever’s the strongest, I think will win, so it’s just for us to just go there and give it your all.
“As I say, it’s a win-win situation. You can’t lose, so it doesn’t make any sense going up there and fooling around. [We need to] put the focus [in], find a way to just put that focus in whatever you have to do, whether it be batting, bowling, fielding – just go there and zone in.
“Obviously too, the main thing is to enjoy it. I think sometimes people put a lot of pressure on their self to perform. But once you’re enjoying it, I think that makes it a little more easier for you to go there and execute what you want to do. So, as I say, may the better team win.”
Ironically, the two teams met in a pre-tournament three-match warm-up series in Jamaica when West Indies dominated to come away with a clean sweep.
But then, South Africa had key players missing, and Chase said even though it was great to have the series win, the World Cup match-up presented an entirely new challenge.
“It’s always good to win an international series. Obviously there would have been two different teams – us and South Africa have different players in the World Cup,” said the 32-year-old Chase.
“I think it will still play on their minds obviously because we played some really good cricket in that series. But this is a different series now, this is the big World Cup and obviously, they have stronger players in their setup as well.
“They haven’t lost a match as yet in the World Cup so they will be high on confidence but it’s just for us to go there, put that series behind us, put every game that we’ve played so far behind us, and just focus on that one to come.
“[We have to] go out there and give it our all because once you lose, you’re home. So, it’s just to go out there, give it your all, put all on the line, and try to play [decent cricket].
“I think once we play a decent game of cricket, a good game of cricket, like probably [85 per cent to 90 per cent] of our ability, I think we should be victorious.”
West Indies played the group stage unbeaten with victories over Papua New Guinea, Uganda, New Zealand and Afghanistan, but faltered when they failed to defend 180 against England, resulting in an eight-wicket defeat.
Chase said while there would be no change in approach from the two-time former champions, there would be a focus on ensuring they controlled the power-plays with both bat and ball, unlike what occurred against England.
“I think the game plan will remain the same. I just think that most of the times when we control the power-play, whether batting or bowling, that’s when we come out on top,” Chase pointed out.
“In the last game when we lost to England, we struggled in that period after the power-play … but I think that that’s the main focus, because we know in the end we have the power at the end.
“So it’s just for us to control that power-play with the batting and our bowling, and then for us in the batting to keep the momentum going to that seven to 15-over period where we fell down horribly against England.”
SQUADS:
WEST INDIES – Rovman Powell (captain), Alzarri Joseph, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd.
SOUTH AFRICA – Aiden Markram (captain), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.
