Sammy hoping to strike early winning tone in England T20s

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies captain Darren Sammy says victory in the two-match Twenty20 series against England later this month will help set the tone for a strong overseas campaign which includes tours of Bangladesh and India later this year.

Sammy will lead a 14-man squad to England next week for T20s at the Oval on September 23 and 25, before carrying the Windies to Test and ODI tours on the Asian subcontinent.

“This series signals the start of our overseas campaign for this year and we want to start our travels on a winning note,” Sammy said.

“These two matches present us with a chance to look at players as we prepare for the ICC T20 World Championship in Sri Lanka next year. Some young players have been given this golden opportunity to show what they can do.

“The selectors have identified players they want to look at and everyone is happy to get the opportunity to represent the West Indies.”

Sammy was speaking during a training camp at the High Performance Centre at the UWI Cave Hill Campus where the Windies been going through rigorous training and fitness testing since Sunday.

They are expected to cap off their preparations with matches at the weekend against the HPC, before leaving for London on Monday.

With England the reigning World T20 champions, Sammy admitted that his side faced a daunting prospect but backed them to do well.

“England have been playing some very good cricket in all three formats of the game and we know we face a major challenge in this series,” he explained.

“But we have some very confident players who are eager to prove themselves and give their utmost for the people of the West Indies. There is a lot to be gained by performing in this short series.

“I will be giving my all and I expect the same from all the other member of the squad. We have our plans on how we aim to play against England and what we aim to get out of the series.”