Windies take Lord’s gamble

LONDON: In their first appearance on the tour at the spiritual headquarters of cricket, West Indies are set to gamble against England in the penultimate preliminary match of the three-nation limited-overs cricket series today. As they seek to snap a two-match losing streak and assure themselves of a date with New Zealand in Saturday’s final back at Lord’s. Devon Smith is set to make his first appearance of the series, opening the batting with Chris Gayle.

It’s a switch that is intended to bolster a vulnerable top order, but also puts added pressure on an attack that will include just two frontline bowlers. It is yet another instance of chopping and changing that reflects the unsettled nature of a side that started so encouragingly but is now in danger of fading away and having their confidence further deteriorated ahead of the four-Test series. With both teams locked on 10 points, victory for the West Indies will eliminate the hosts and turn Thursday’s final preliminary match against New Zealand in Southampton into a dress rehearsal for the final. An England win, however, will leave the Caribbean side in a must-win situation against Stephen Fleming’s squad, who remain the only unbeaten team in the tournament.

While acknowledging the significance of today’s match in front of what is expected to be a capacity 30,000 crowd, West Indies captain Brian Lara is more concerned with the bigger picture of regaining form and confidence. “It’s a must-win situation, but for us, being in England for the next two-and-a-half to three months, we’ve got to try to keep on improving each and every single match,” Lara emphasised.

Teams: ENGLAND (probable): Michael Vaughan (capt), Marcus Trescothick, Andrew Strauss, Robert Key, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Geraint Jones, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Steve Harmison, James Anderson.

WEST INDIES: Brian Lara (capt), Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwayne Smith, Ricardo Powell, Dwayne Bravo, Ridley Jacobs, Tino Best, Ian Bradshaw.