BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies captain Darren Sammy says his side will leave nothing to chance today’s third day of the opening Test against Zimbabwe, despite being in a strong position to force a win.
The hosts took charge of the Kensington Oval contest by scoring 307 in their first innings, in reply to Zimbabwe’s 211 on the opening day. Batting a second time, the tourists were reduced to 41 for three, still 55 runs adrift of making West Indies bat again.
“We are well on top with the wickets – with (Shane) Shillingford getting two wickets and Shannon (Gabriel) bowling quite fast and getting the other wicket. We got three of their top order batmen out and they are still over 50 runs behind,” Sammy told reporters here.
“We are heading on the right track. Tomorrow morning I will remind the guys that this game is not yet over. Cricket is a game of shifting fortunes and glorious uncertainties, so tomorrow we will have to come out there with the same attitude and mindset we had this afternoon, look for quick wickets and bowl them out very quickly.”
It was Sammy’s exhilarating cameo which lifted West Indies after they slumped to 151 for six in the fourth over after lunch. He pummeled eight fours and four massive sixes off a mere 69 balls, adding 106 for the seventh wicket with wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin who scored 62 on his 28th birthday.
“I backed myself and I played my natural game. I play to my strengths. That partnership with Ramdin and myself really put us in a good position and set up the game nicely. I always look to do my best and deliver what the team requires,” Sammy explained.
“Today for me it wasn’t about survival as I always back myself to play the proper shot. They gave me some loose balls and I put them away. That’s cricket – you respect the good balls and when you get the bad balls you put them away. It was a matter of [proper] execution.
“It was good to see that Denesh at number six and myself scheduled to be at number seven were able to put on over 100 runs and put the team on the right track after we were five wickets down.”
Resuming the day on 18 for two, West Indies lost three wickets in the morning session despite adding 126 runs, to be 144 for five at lunch.
Opener Chris Gayle struck 40 and Marlon Samuels stroked 51 in his first international innings of the year since recovering from a serious eye injury. Veteran Shiv Chanderpaul fell for 26 after seemingly set, and it was left up to Sammy and Ramdin to rescue the innings.
“We wanted to bat all day but we didn’t so when we came out to bowl we were hunting for wickets,” he said.
“From the time Zimbabwe came down we were focused on winning. We have won four Test matches [in a row] and before this Test series we said we wanted to win this one – take it game by game, day by day.”
