Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Cricket World Cup: West Indies trio set for recalls

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 quarter-final: Pakistan v West Indies
Venue: Mirpur Date: Wednesday, 23 March (0830 GMT)

Gayle, Chanderpaul and Roach will boost West Indies' line-up in Mirpur

West Indies are set to recall key trio Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Kemar Roach for the World Cup quarter-final against Pakistan on Wednesday.
Gayle and Roach missed the defeat by India on Sunday due to injury and illness respectively, while Chanderpaul was dropped for their last two matches.
Pakistan, who ended Australia's 34-game unbeaten run in World Cups on Saturday, are likely to name an unchanged side.
"I'm happy with a winning combination," said Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi.
Pakistan were superb in Colombo as they became the first team to beat Australia in the tournament since 1999, with the likes of Umar Gul, Abdul Razzaq and Umar Akmal all impressing in the four-wicket win.
Afridi believes the 1992 champions have gained momentum from the result, but also knows it will have increased expectations, with many predicting Pakistan could go all the way.
"Yes, expectation is more now, but we feel more confident too," he added. "Winning a big game before the quarter-final is a good sign and we all are very confident.
"We really worked hard before this World Cup. I don't think we have ever worked as hard in our careers. We had very good [training] camp sessions, we've been taking our practice sessions very seriously.
"The coaches have done a great job with the guys, especially with the fielding. There's a lot of effort behind this."
West Indies finished fourth in Group B after losing their last two games to England and India, both as a result of dismal batting collapses.
But skipper Darren Sammy is confident the return of Gayle at the top of the order after an abdominal strain and the recovery from a fever of Roach will bolster their resources and says the mood in the camp remains high.
"Chris and Kemar participated in practice and everyone is in good spirits," said Sammy. "I liked the way Chris was hitting balls in the nets.
"He is a very committed fellow, he will do whatever it takes to put the team in a position to win. So come Wednesday, I have no doubt he will do the best thing for the team.
"Shivnarine is part of the team, he has a big role to play in the quarter-finals, most likely we will see him feature in Wednesday's game. He has continued to work in the nets - we have not counted Chanderpaul out.
"We will assess the conditions and discuss it amongst ourselves before finalizing the team. We will put out the best possible team which can deal with the conditions. We will come up with the best combination to go out there and win."
Sammy must decide whether to leave out fast bowler Ravi Rampaul in favour of Roach, although Rampaul took 5-50 against India on Sunday in his first game of the tournament to press his claims.
West Indies return to the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium for the first time since their nine-wicket win over Bangladesh in the group stage, after which their team bus came under attack from angry home fans throwing stones, apparently believing the bus carried the Bangladesh team.
"Since we've been back here, we feel loved by the people," added Sammy. "Obviously it's unfortunate what happened but we've put that behind us. We know Bangladesh people, they support cricket.
"And our performance here last time might give us an edge. It was a perfect demonstration of plans being executed on this ground. We'll be taking confidence from that and looking to go out there and put in an equally good performance."
The winners of Pakistan v West Indies will take on the winners of India v Australia in the semi-finals in Mohali on Wednesday 30 March.

Pakistan (from): Kamran Akmal (wk), Mohammad Hafeez, Asid Shafiq, Younus Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi (capt), Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Ahmed Shehzad, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar.
West Indies (from): Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Kieron Pollard, Devon Thomas (wk), Darren Sammy (capt), Andre Russell, Sulieman Benn, Devendra Bishoo, Nikita Miller, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach.
Umpires: Billy Bowden (New Zealand), Steve Davis (Australia).
TV umpire: Daryl Harper (Australia).
Fourth umpire: Bruce Oxenford (Australia).
Match referee: Chris Broad (England).


No comments:

Post a Comment