West Indies’ opening T20 World Cup match is now 53 days away, and coach Darren Sammy says he’s “probably quite sure as to what my World Cup team would be”—except for two players. And so the search is on for the missing two.
At a wide-ranging press conference in Barbados yesterday, which also involved Cricket West Indies president Dr Kishore Shallow and director of cricket Miles Bascombe, Sammy said his team’s preparations for the June 1-29 tournament in the Caribbean and United States are in the “fine-tuning” stage.
“The last two players will be very difficult to pick to make that 15-man squad because I’m pretty sure we have 13 guys who’ve booked their place but it’s just that last two that will be very, very difficult,” Sammy told the regional media.
According to the WI white-ball coach, bowling spots are up for grabs. And while Sammy expressed full confidence with his side’s batting form; he admitted work needed to be done in the bowling Powerplay aspect of his team’s game.
“The lack of taking wickets in the Powerplay has affected the different stages of the game,” Sammy said. That’s when I speak about the last two picks that we are looking at, (it) is to see which is gonna be the final straw.”
Asked about the possibility of new pace sensation Shamar Joseph clinching one of those spots, Sammy said he was “in contention.”
Joseph burst upon the international scene in February when he bowled West Indies to victory in Brisbane to give the Caribbean side their first Test win in Australia in 27 years.
“Shamar brings the pace element,” Sammy said. “What we watched in Australia, he was very consistent in his line and length which resulted in wickets and is something for 24 balls in different stages of the game that we are looking for.”
However, a measured Sammy added: “Hype without the substance is overrated…We’ve had measures and processes that lead us to the World Cup…Shamar Joseph…fast-tracked his way by his performances and hopefully he gets to play T20s and we also see what he’s capable of doing under pressure every single ball in T20 cricket…and we select from there.”
Joseph is currently with the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League but has yet to play a match for the T20 franchise. And coach Sammy emphasised:
“He’s in contention but it will be a collective decision which of those fast bowlers will make it into the World Cup team. I do hope that I get to see enough that will allow me to maker a fair assessment of the skill-set of Mr Joseph in the T20 format.”
Sammy noted that players will get a further chance to press their World Cup claims during a planned “A” team tour of Nepal
“We will use it as preparation to give guys more practice leading up to the World Cup,” he said. “We have five T20 matches versus Nepal…We will use that to fine-tune one or two spots. It creates more opportunities for guys to further select themselves.”
West Indies will also play South Africa at home shortly before the start of the tournament.
Sammy also said there would be a pre-World Cup camp in Antigua from May 10.
But the WI coach already has a good feeling about what the final squad will be able to do at the World Cup.
“I see a group of men really understanding the effect it would have on us being successful in this T20 World Cup,” Sammy said.
And making a comparison with the World Cup-winning teams he led in 2012 and 2016, Sammy added: “When I look at these guys, it is something I’ve seen before. I tell them that all the time, because I had that team. I led that team for six years and we’ve taken some of the successes (successful elements) from 2012 and 2016 and implemented them into this current team.”
Saying that “bowlers win you tournaments,” Sammy said further: “I see Akeal Hosein as Samuel Badree…Still searching for my (Sunil) Narine which is hard to replace, but the quality of guys that I have, I believe we’ll make it up…
“I’m quite happy with where we at as a T20 team building towards the main event. I see a group of men that believe and operate like they could win, and to me, belief is a massive, massive thing.”
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