Windies hope to bring smile to Caribbean

LONDON: West Indies have an additional incentive to bounce back with a victory when they meet England in the ICC Champions Trophy final at The Oval tomorrow. The Caribbean islands have taken a hammering from the recent hurricanes which have left a trail of destruction and the West Indian cricketers are hoping their emergence from the international wilderness can put a smile back on the faces of their fans at home. “It’s very important for us. Having experienced everything in the Caribbean recently, with the hurricane and stuff like that, as a team we are hungry to play well for the people back home,” said vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan. “We haven’t actually won anything in recent times and hopefully we will be able to pull off something outstanding on Saturday.” Sarwan has certainly been outstanding, scoring 75 in the five-wicket victory over South Africa in the Pool B decider and an unbeaten 51 in Wednesday’s seven-wicket semi-final thrashing of Pakistan. The manner of those wins sees the Windies going into the final on a great high as England, who eliminated World Cup holders and red-hot tournament favourites Australia.

Sarwan insisted that coming off second-best to England on the Test match stage, at home and away in the last year, should not be a factor for a team which have recaptured their form and confidence in one-day cricket. The two sides drew 2-2 in last winter’s weather-hit one-day series in the Caribbean before the West Indies reached the final of this summer’s NatWest Trophy final at the expense of hosts England. Sarwan claimed: “We played pretty well against them in the NatWest series so we take a lot of confidence from that and hopefully we can continue the sort of form we have had in our recent one-day performances. I think Saturday is going to be a great opportunity for us.” Captain Brian Lara is confident he will be fit to play despite retiring hurt after being struck a vicious blow from Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, and Sarwan puts the West Indies revival down to their blend of youth and experience.

“We have been playing well in one-day games. Once you have so many experienced players back in the squad, like Merv Dillon, (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle, and a combination of young players and experienced players, that is the important thing. That’s something we don’t have in the Test squad.” No-one has demonstrated the benefits of the influx of youth more than 20-year-old all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who conceded 22 runs from his first three overs against Pakistan but bounced back to figure in two crucial run-outs and also snatch two wickets in his second spell. “Dwayne was outstanding. The way he came back showed a lot of maturity,” said Sarwan. But the 24-year-old Guyana batsman warned: “We need to take it one step at a time. I don’t think we are going to get back to the top in two days or even a year.