Sammy promises fearless play

NEW DELHI, India, Nov 5, CMC/IANS – Darren Sammy promised that West Indies would display a fearless brand of cricket against a superior Indian side in the first of three Tests, beginning today.

Darren Sammy

The West Indies captain said it was a challenge for his young team to play against India, who are currently ranked No.3 in the Test rankings.

“Playing in India is a big challenge for me as captain as well as the team,” said Sammy after a practice session at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Saturday.

“India are one of the top sides in Test cricket with great players. Cricket is a religion here. It will be the toughest test for us yet.

“We have to play fearlessly against them. We have to perform our best. We have to be hungry to do well and give our best.”

Sammy said the team is high on confidence after their Test series win in Bangladesh.

“We have done well in the home Test series against India and then we have come from Bangladesh after a successful tour, so we are well prepared and we are not new to the conditions here,” he said.

Sammy also backed leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo to do well in the series.

“He is the ICC Emerging-Player-of-the-Year and he has been in good form after his introduction to Test cricket,” he said. “You want your main spinner to win matches for you in such conditions.”

Sammy acknowledged that West Indies’ fast bowlers no longer pose the threat they did in the past.

“It is a fact that we are no longer fearsome in fast bowling, but we are improving,” he said. “After Ottis Gibson became coach, we are improving in the pace department also.”

Sammy also said that as a captain he is also making progress.

“Captaincy is an art that we do every day,” he said. “Every day I am learning something. I am improving with the ball, trying to contribute as much with the bat and have also improved in decision-making as well.”

Sammy said he was aware of the hype around Sachin Tendulkar’s impending 100th international hundred and added that his team would make it tough for the batting maestro to achieve the milestone.

“Sachin is a great player,” he said. “But we have come here not to play names. We will execute our plans against him. As much as we admire

Sachin as a great player, we will try to make life difficult for him.”