The Hindu : Sport : Upbeat Windies starts firm favourite

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2006
ePaper

Sport

Sport

Upbeat Windies starts firm favourite

Vijay Lokapally

JAIPUR : Cross-armed, surveying the field from his position, and his countenance reflecting the tensions emanating from within, Brian Lara gives the impression of a man in conflict with circumstances. He has responsibilities that grow manifold when the opposition is strong. There is no respite for him even when the opposition is weak, for, he has to then arrest complacency that afflicts West Indies cricket in most big tournaments.

In this city of forts, Lara leads a pack of motivated, but unpredictable cricketers in defence of a crown they wore at the Oval on a wonderful night two years ago. ``Resurgence of West Indies cricket'' was how the triumph was hailed universally. Lara and his men have since walked a thorny path, not always reaching the destination, but not always losing way either.

The Champions Trophy format requires the West Indies and Sri Lanka to go through the qualifying stage. They have no worries on this front, for it prepares them better than the rest, who get just practice matches to assess their strengths.

`Important match'

"It's an important match for us. Bangladesh is not a team to be taken lightly and we're looking forward to putting our best show. We just can't afford to be complacent. We have targets and it is important to win,'' said Lara on the eve of the match at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here. The West Indies, however, had fitness concerns regarding Ramnaresh Sarwan, Runako Morton and Dwayne Smith, but they are available for selection.

It is indeed creditable that for a team, which has two part-time spinners, Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, and just two quality fast bowlers Jerome Taylor and Ian Bradshaw as the main component of the attack, West Indies has made a remarkable impact. The 4-1 win at home against India last May was a gigantic leap. True, the contests were close but the ultimate winner was the West Indies.

Lara's presence lends a pristine touch to West Indies' strong point — batting. It backs itself as the only team in the world to go in with eight specialist batsmen. If Lara signifies silken dominance of the attack, Gayle is an epitome of robust hitting. "He's one of the best in the world and a very important cog in our wheel. He's a match-winner," said Lara on Gayle.

West Indies demolished Zimbabwe in the qualifying match at Ahmedabad to make an expected start. Bangladesh lost to Sri Lanka at Mohali, also on expected lines.

Whatmore confident

But Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore had this to say. ``I don't know which glass you are looking at this through. We bowled much better, fielded excellently and batted the 50 overs. The confidence is high,'' Whatmore emphasised.

Habibul Bashar, the Bangladesh captain, endorsed his coach by insisting ``we are a lot more competitive side.'' Veteran Khaled Mahmood, now a manager, made his presence felt too by affirming ``the team is improving day by day.''

We shall discover on Wednesday.

The teams (from): West Indies: Brian Lara (capt.), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Carlton Baugh, Ian Bradshaw, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Fidel Edwards, Dwayne Bravo, Corey Collymore, Dwayne Smith, Runako Morton and Jerome Taylor.

Bangladesh: Habibul Bashar (capt.), Shahriar Nafees, Abdur Razzak, Aftab Ahmed, Farhad Reza, Khaled Mashud, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mehrab Hossain (Jr.), Mohammad Ashraful, Mohammad Rafique, Rajin Saleh, Saqibul Hasan, Shahadat Hossain and Syed Rasel.

Umpires: Billy Bowden (New Zealand) and Simon Taufel (Australia).

Third umpire: Steve Bucknor (West Indies).

Reserve umpire: Daryl Harper (Australia).

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).

Hours of play: 2.30 p.m. to 6 p.m.; 6.45 p.m. till close

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport