The power packed West Indies line-up is geared up to take on India at the Oval on Tuesday. The Dwayne Bravo-led side comprises of some of the biggest hitters in world cricket who are capable of turning the match on its head. With the likes of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Darren Sammy, Ravi Rampaul and the captain himself in good form, the men from Caribbean form a formidable opposition against any side.
Ahead of their match, the West Indies coach Ottis Gibson spoke to the media about his team and their plans for. With most of the players having played alongside or against MS Dhoni’s men in the IPL prior to the ICC tournament, Gibson said that their inputs will be important as they prepare for the game.
Excerpts:
What are you expecting in terms of the weather tomorrow because if it's as cloudy as this, India has a couple of handy swing bowlers? What would you prefer?
I'd prefer it to be 10 degrees warmer, that's for sure. I think both teams would. We are warm blooded type creatures coming from the Caribbean and India, so we would prefer it to be a few degrees warmer for sure.
Why do you think scoring runs was difficult in the last match (against Pakistan)?
Well, I think you had two good bowling attacks. I thought we bowled very well and then we always knew that Pakistan's strength was in their bowling; they've got three quality left handed fast-bowlers bowling at 140 plus, and they've got two excellent spinners, as well, in (Saeed) Ajmal and (Mohammad) Hafeez. I thought it was good bowling. Obviously the pitch assisted a little bit. There was a little more bounce than perhaps what we expected, but all in all I thought it was good bowling on the day from both teams.
With so many players coming from the IPL, what did the bowlers and batsmen share about the Indian batsmen?
Yeah, well, that's one of the key things, I think. We have so many, everybody has got video of each other now. We watch so much footage of each other, but we also have a lot of our players mixing with the Indian players in the IPL, our players, Dwayne (Bravo), Chris (Gayle), (Kieron) Pollard especially, Sunil Narine has been starring in the IPL, so hopefully they have got a lot of information to share when we get back this evening. We'll have a really good discussion about the Indian players and stuff like that, and those guys will form part of the main part of that discussion.
The bowling was excellent the other day, Kemar Roach particularly, in that first spell particularly was great?
He has done very well for us. Coming into this tournament he hadn't been at his best, and he has put a lot of work and I am really pleased for him that the work that he had put in has paid off. The first two warm-up games didn't go particularly well for him, but you could see that the work that he was putting in meant that at some point of time he was going to have a day like he did on Tuesday, and we hope that he can continue.
You recognized that Narine has been a star at the IPL. Do you think tomorrow's game adds a little more pressure on him to perform in West Indies colours?
No, look, we tend to try and take pressure off people. Of course we know what he can do for us, but he's got a part to play in the game as well as the other five bowlers that we pick, so we expect everybody to play their part, the captain and the fielders around him are there to take the pressure off him.
Gordon Greenidge, who's an advisor to the Pakistan team, was asked if Chris Gayle would have gotten into the side of the '80s and '90s, and he said no, he wouldn't have taken his place, maybe replaced Desmond (Haynes). Do you think he would have a chance of getting into that side?
For sure, I think so. I think when you look at his career over the last 10 years, I saw what he's done. In all conditions against all oppositions. You have to say that he's been outstanding. Of course that was a great era and a great team, but Chris is a great player, too. Look, I would back him to get into any team.
If conditions tend to be the same as in the Pakistan game, is there a possibility of throwing in Tino Best?
There's always a possibility, yes.
West Indies, especially after the T20 success, have been seen as a T20 sort of team. How difficult is it to get them out of that frame of mind and adjust them to a 50-over mindset?
Look, over the last couple of years we've become a more experienced team. I think you saw against Pakistan, the Pollards, the Marlon Samuels, even Chris to a certain extent, curbed their natural attacking instincts, and Pollard played outstandingly well for us until he got a good ball, but you didn't see the sort of big hitting that you might see in the IPL. Most of Pollard's international hundred, I think he's got three or four now, most of his international hundreds were hundreds where he occupied the crease, batted probably 30 or 40 overs for us but he came in everywhere and batted properly. We're finding out that a lot of our players, especially the IPL players, are also able to adapt and play along what the situation requires, and that's one of the things that we've worked really hard over the last couple of years, and it's starting to bear fruits now, as well.
What's with West Indies at The Oval, very close finishes, 2004, the Final, and the last game, as well? Obviously makes for good viewing.
Of course, and like I said just then about entertainment value, that's the one thing you will get when you come into the stadium to watch West Indies play, you will be entertained.
There was a time not long ago where we entertained you and ended up on the wrong side of the result, and we're hoping to change that. We saw against Pakistan a very close entertaining match, low scoring but very entertaining, and we actually got the right result, and we're looking to do the same again.
I think The Oval has always been a good place for West Indies. Going back to the history of West Indies cricket it's always been a good place for us. We're very comfortable here. Our guys enjoy coming here and the history and everything else. We play some really good cricket here, and we're hoping to do that tomorrow, as well.
