– West Indies captain Chris Gayle says the second Test win over Sri Lanka has had a spill over effect which has left the West Indies players pumped up
Garth Wattley
In Port of Spain
It has been rare in recent years to find a West Indies team with a better Test than a one-day record.
But Chris Gayle and his men will be attempting to balance things out when they face Sri Lanka today in the first match of the Digicel One-day Series at the Queen’s Park Oval.
Last Sunday’s six-wicket victory over the Sri Lankans in the second and final Test of that rubber, made it two wins out of five for the Windies since Gayle officially took over the team.
However, the West Indies have yet to register a win in limited overs matches since the Gayle regime began.
With Dwayne Bravo leading the side in the absence of the injured Gayle, West Indies were beaten 5-0 in their last ODI series in South Africa, a series in which they were also completely without Ramnaresh Sarwan, the Second Test hero against Sri Lanka, and the other ace batsman, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, for one match.
Today however, Gayle and coach John Dyson have a full complement to choose from. And this time, they have different expectations.
“In the one-day series in South Africa, I think even though we didn’t win the matches, we played some very, very positive and good cricket,” Dyson told the media yesterday.
“And it will only take a little bit of luck going our way, and a slightly better performance here and there and we’ll win matches in one-day cricket as well.”
Gayle felt the Test winfour days ago would have a spillover effect on his players.
“The guys are pretty pumped up. But having said that, you can’t be too overconfident,” he said.
“Preparation has been good so far. Hopefully we can come up with the right formula for the team tomorrow and then we can take it from there.”
Captain Mahela Jayawardene will also be looking for improvement from his side.
While they got all the way to the final of the ICC World Cup in the Caribbean last year; Sri Lanka’s recent ODI record following the Commonwealth Bank series in Australia is only marginally better than that of their opponents: one win, four losses.
However more than improvement of that record will be on Jayawardene’s mind in this series for his squad, which does not include spin spearhead Muttiah Muralitharan or veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya.
“There are a lot of youngsters, and what we are trying to do is develop a team for the next World Cup,” Jayawardene said. “We are going to try a few guys, some exciting youngsters. We want to be competitive against West Indies and see where we are in terms of our preparation for the World Cup.”
Gayle’s focus however, is very much on the immediate future.
“West Indies right now, we’re here to win every game and to play the best team as possible,” he said.
However, neither Gayle nor Dyson divulged who in the squad of 16 might play today.
“We have so many to select from,” Gayle said. “The majority of the guys are in a bit of form as well. Only 11 can play. As I said before, we just have to come up with the right 11.”
Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul however will be sure starters, as may be opener Sewnarine Chattergoon who performed creditably in the South Africa ODIs and again in the Second Test against the Sri Lankans.
Less certain though, is whether robust middle order batsman/ slow medium bowler Kieron Pollard, who made his solitary international appearance at the World Cup will be used in the first game of this series. The final spot in the middle could be between him and Runako Morton.
“It’s good to have Pollard back,” Gayle said. “He’s a young guy, only saw him in the World Cup, didn’t get (much of) an opportunity. Hoping this time we can work with him and work on his game. We’ll see how well the coach can help him.”
Current form suggests an even contest. So does past history.
While Sri Lanka have beaten the Windies four times out of six on Caribbean soil, the sides have shared a game apiece at the Oval.
Weather permitting, another good surface at the Oval should provide an interesting tie breaker.
Play starts at 9.30am.
Teams:
West Indies from: Chris Gayle (capt), Devon Smith, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Runako Morton, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Patrick Browne (wk), Darren Sammy, Sulieman Benn, Fidel Edwards, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell.
Sri Lanka (probable): Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Upul Tharanga, Mahela Udawatte, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Chaminda Vaas, Malinga Bandara.
