The Hindu : Sport : Qualifiers remain cautiously optimistic

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Tuesday, Oct 03, 2006
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Qualifiers remain cautiously optimistic

Special Correspondent

PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUM

THE HAPPY BUNCH: West Indies stars (from left) Dwayne Bravo, Ian Bradshaw, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan look gung ho and ready to retain the ICC Champions Trophy.

NEW DELHI: The West Indies is keen to retain the ICC Champions Trophy while Sri Lanka is determined to make amends for its below-par performance in the sub-continent last year. However, the two former World champions have to go through the qualifying phase because they were not in the top six of the ICC rankings on the cut-off date of April 1 this year.

The two teams along with Bangladesh and Zimbabwe — who are here for the qualifying stage, from which two will join the six seeded teams in the knockout phase — more or less know where they stand in the competition.

When the players met the media by turns here on Monday, their comments were all consistently predictable. Though it is not difficult to visualise West Indies and Sri Lanka making the next stage without much fuss, the `favourites' treaded cautiously and gave the lesser teams their due.

"Bangladesh has beaten every nation at least once," noted former Sri Lankan captain Marvan Attapattu, who has been out of action for eight months owing to a disc pro-lapse and the resultant surgery. "It is an unpredictable side, so we will have to be on our guard," he said.

Nothing to lose

"Remember, they have nothing to lose. So we have to take it one match at a time and not get too far ahead of us. We know about Bangladesh and are aware of what they are bringing to the table," added Kumar Sangakkara.

Former captain Sanath Jayasuriya was looking forward to using the three games of the qualifying phase to get fine-tuned for the battles ahead. "My aim is to bat for a long time and help the team to a good total," he said.

West Indians Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan echoed skipper Brian Lara's views that the team was good enough to go all the way. "We have a good all-round side, but you cannot underestimate any team in this competition. All the teams are well prepared," Gayle said.

"We are ready for the challenge. But, it will be difficult to get past West Indies and Sri Lanka," admitted Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar. "We have performed on and off and I consider it (the team) as half full and still developing," added coach Dav Whatmore.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe skipper and off-spinner Prosper Utseya is looking forward to getting some "useful tips" from his idol Harbhajan Singh. "The other teams have only mortals and are likely to fail. I think, if we can put 220-230 runs on the board, we can make it very competitive," he said.

Zimbabwe faces West Indies in Ahmedabad on Oct. 8, a day after Sri Lanka meets Bangladesh at Mohali in the opening game of the qualifying phase.

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