Windies seeking to make up for disappointing exit from Champions Trophy

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC- Captain Dwayne Bravo says West Indies will attempt to make amends for their disappointing exit from the ICC Champions Trophy when they battle champions India and Sri Lanka in the Celkon Mobile Tri-Nation Tournament starting tomorrow.

Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo

West Indies were eliminated after Kieron Pollard was dismissed just before the rain intervened dashing their hopes of earning a semifinal berth.

If Pollard had kept his wicket intact, after scoring a 23-ball 28, West Indies would have been the winners and advanced along with India from Group B.

“We are disappointed at how we exited the Champions Trophy, but I think those who look at the competition closely say that we really gave it our best shot,” said Bravo, who, along with the team’s non-Jamaican players, arrived on the island Tuesday.

“We are now looking forward to this Tri-Nation series, which should be a very tough series, to see if we can make amends and, hopefully, make our fans proud once again.”

Bravo, who will be in charge of the regional one-day team for a second tournament, said he was comfortable with the make-up of the team’s 13-man squad.

The squad features the players who participated in the Champions Trophy with the exception of Ramnaresh Sarwan and young fast bowler Jason Holder.

“It’s a balanced squad with a lot of match-winners, who myself and the coaching staff believe can get the job done,” said Bravo.

“As to which players we pick to play each match that will come down to the opposition and the match conditions on the day.”

The tournament, which will be held in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, will see each team playing each other twice, with the top two teams advancing to the final.

The Jamaican leg is set to bowl off tomorrow, with the West Indies facing ICC Champions Trophy semi-finalists Sri Lanka.

SQUAD: Dwayne Bravo (captain), Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard, Devon Smith, Darren Sammy, Denesh Ramdin, Sunil Narine, Tino Best, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach.