BRISBANE, Australia, CMC – A weary West Indies team arrived here late Thursday night after a two-day trek from the Caribbean, pledging unity and commitment as they tried to shake off the recent turbulence that nearly wrecked the side.
Both newly reinstalled captain Chris Gayle and coach David Williams made it clear that the major focus of the three-Test tour would be ensuring the squad bonded, as they chased their first series win against the Australians in 15 years.
“It’s really heartening to see the way the guys approached the last couple of days with that flight,” said Williams, who was a member of the last West Indies side to win a series here in 1992/93.
“It was really amazing to see the guys enjoying themselves. We have to stick together as a team. It’s very important that we understand our own objectives and we’re trying extremely hard to keep that intact.”
The tour signals the return of the first choice players who withheld their services as the West Indies Players Association and the West Indies Cricket Board bickered over contract issues over the last few months.
Their boycott forced selectors to pick a second string squad for the Bangladesh series and the ICC Champions Trophy, with the team receiving heavy drubbings as a result.
Gayle, one of the players that made themselves unavailable, said the time had come to move forward.
“It kind of set us back but at the same time we have to move forward and try and forget about what happened in the past,” said the 29-year-old Jamaican, who has played just two Tests in Australia and a mere five against the World champions overall.
“It’s a rebuilding process right now but when I say rebuilding we still have to give ourselves a good chance of winning and play good positive cricket at the same time.
“I’ll try and create a good environment [as captain] get that unity on track. You want the support of each and every player.”
With or without the challenge of uniting the side, West Indies face a daunting task against the mighty Australians.
They have lost 11 of their last 13 matches here, including a 5-0 whitewash in the 2005/06 series and a similar 3-0 clean sweep in the 2000/01 rubber.
Despite the sombre statistics, both Gayle and Williams remained positive.
“Every team is beatable. It doesn’t matter who you are up against. The task won’t be easy but teams are beatable,” Gayle said.
“It’s always an uphill task to go up against the Aussies but, like I said, teams are beatable.”
Two of Williams’ 11 Tests were victories over Australia under former captain Richie Richardson and he too fancied his side’s chances.
“If we play to [our] full potential we have a good chance of beating Australia. In the recent past they haven’t played very well at home and particularly in the first match,” said Williams.
“So I think that’s an opportunity to capitalise on. If we can hit the straps and get them on the back foot early you never know – we could steal that first Test and go on and win the series.”
West Indies meet Queensland in a four-day match starting Wednesday before playing their first Test at the Gabba eight days later.
They will play the last two Tests in Adelaide (December 4-8) and in Perth (December 16-20) before returning home just before Christmas Day.
