Coach: WI players did not party

Manager of the West Indies cricket team Ricky Skerritt said yesterday that a report that four West Indian players were seen partying after the massive defeat at the hands of England in Jamaica on Sunday  were “unfounded and untrue”. “That report is totally untrue, yes we had players who visited the Mound to speak to certain people but they did not go their to party while the rest of the region was hurting,” Skerritt said at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain yesterday. “Maybe it was not the best thing at the time but we have to understand that we have some young players who may get carried away at times and all we need to do is speak to them and let them know the consequences of their actions,” he said.

Skerritt, pressed further said: “I am not going to reveal the names of the players. The matter has already been dealt with and the boys are all ready and focus for cricket this weekend.” Newsday however was informed that the players who allegedly visited the Mound were batsmen Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan and fast bowlers Adam Sanford and Tino Best. The West Indies went under to England by 10 wickets in the First Test after falling for their lowest Test score of 47 runs in their second innings at Sabina Park on Sunday. Fast bowler Steve Harmison was the main destroyer with the remarkable figures of seven wickets for 12 runs. Skerritt also said that none of his players were at a party on Saturday night as was reported.
“I don’t know where this report originated. After the team’s dismal score of 47 all out, we expected all kinds of remarks but I am here to say that the guys were not at any party,” he said.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s Second Test Skerritt said: “The boys were of course in a bad state after the defeat in Sabina but they are professionals and they are fully aware that their work is still cut out for them — probably even harder now. “They know that they have let down the fans and they intend to go into this match fighting to give them something to cheer about,” the Jamaican said. On Tuesday the West Indies chances of squaring the series were dealt a severe blow when the back injury to fast bowler Fidel Edwards ruled him out of the match. He has been replaced by his half-brother Pedro Collins who had an outstanding season in the regional Carib Beer Series. The Caribbean cricketers had a practice session at the Oval yesterday morning and skipper Brian Lara, on whom a lot would depend, was in the nets for an extended period. He played every delivery very carefully as to suggest that he is on a mission for a big score this weekend.

England visited the match venue for the first time yesterday afternoon and also conducted a very rigorous session. Despite the euphoria of that historic victory at Sabina Park, England’s coach, Duncan Fletcher, has urged his players to avoid complacency. “It’s very important that we look after our own game and prepare for the next Test,” he stressed. “If we start focusing on other things we’ll probably forget about what we’ve got to do, so we’ll just let that be —— it’s out of our hands,” Fletcher said. On the face of it, England have established a devastating psychological hold on the series after the Sabina debacle. But recent history would suggest that no side is more dangerous than West Indies when written off. Five years ago, Lara inspired them to a 2-1 series lead against Australia, after they were bowled out for 51 in the First Test.

And five years before that, in 1993-94, England were themselves bowled out for 46 by Curtly Ambrose in Trinidad, only to come storming back the following week, to record the first Test win by a touring side in Barbados for 59 years. “We must have an advantage,” admitted Fletcher, “because confidence levels will be high among the bowlers, while the batters have showed a lot of character. For someone like Mark Butcher, who took a bit of a battering and is pretty bruised, for him to go and win like that is a huge advantage — if we’d lost and he’d taken that battering it would have been pretty hard to come back strongly,” he said.