POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa, CMC – West Indies will kick off a preparation camp here over the coming week as they gear up for the imminent Tri-Nations Series in Zimbabwe, involving the hosts and Sri Lanka.
The One-Day International squad assembled here this weekend, with the eight players who were part of the Test series against Pakistan arriving from the United Arab Emirates.
Captain Jason Holder leads the 15 man unit for the tournament which runs from November 14-27.
West Indies will undergo training at the High Performance Centre here as they sharpen their skills for the 50-overs format under the guidance of assistant coach Hendy Springer, batting coach Toby Radford and bowling coach Roddy Estwick.
Last Thursday, West Indies beat Pakistan for their first Test win in 19 months and first on foreign soil in four years, and Estwick said the victory would be a huge boost for the side as they prepared for the Tri-Nations Series.
“I’m a great believer in momentum and I believe this win is going to be important. We’ve still got the Tri-Nations Series to play against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe so this win will give us some kind of confidence,” Estwick said.
“A lot of the players [from the Test squad] are going to Zimbabwe as well so that’s very important that they know they can compete with the best teams in the world but what we are going to do is continue to work hard.”
West Indies will enter the Tri-Nations Series ranked ninth in the world, with Sri Lanka in sixth place and Zimbabwe down in 11th.
The last time the Windies met Sri Lanka in an ODI series a year ago, they suffered a bruising 3-0 drubbing in the series, on what was a difficult tour of the subcontinent.
However, Estwick said with the confidence gained from the recent victory over Pakistan, coupled with hard work in preparation, West Indies would be a potent force in the upcoming series.
“All the best teams get success through hard work, discipline, dedication and that’s something we are really trying to get the players to buy into and this win will go a long way in trying to help that and get the belief and confidence,” the former first class cricketer said.
“And once we can get the momentum we know we can compete. Now we know we can stay five days with all the teams in the world because our fitness has improved and that’s a very, very important thing for us.”
West Indies open their Tri-Nations Series campaign against Sri Lanka on November 16.
