Colombo–West Indies will start their tour of Sri Lanka with a three-day match against the Sri Lanka Cricket's President's XI today at the Singhalese Sports Club. After two days of intense training, the Windies are ready for the match as they seek to get fully acclimatised ahead of the three-match Test Series. West Indies skipper Darren Sammy addressed the media at the official series launch last night. He said the warm-up match is the only chance to get action in the middle ahead of the important series and the players aim to maximise the 270 overs available. "This is a very serious match. We want to make sure we are ready for the Test matches, which are just around the corner.
"This match will present an opportunity for the batsmen to spend a lot of time at the crease and get used to the conditions here in Sri Lanka. We have some batsmen who are new to Sri Lankan pitches, so everyone is keen to make the most of the opportunities," Sammy added.
"Traditionally the pitches here in Sri Lanka are good for batting, so the bowlers will also get a chance to have a good run and see what is required. We had an excellent camp in Barbados and two days of solid training here. "We are now at the business end of the tour. We will be looking to play this match as hard as we will play in the Test matches."
This is Sammy's first series as captain. The 26-year-old allrounder outlined how important the tour is for his team and for West Indies cricket. "This is a very important series for us. We have not been doing that well in recent years but we are a committed team and we are looking to do well in this series. "Sri Lanka play very well at home but we are not daunted. We have the confidence that we can come here and win. For us in the West Indies, cricket is more that a game. All the players here are committed. "We are going to bring back the passion and the pride and also perform to take the West Indies back up the ladder."
WI SQUAD
Darren Sammy (Captain), Brendan Nash (Vice Captain), Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh, Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle, Nelon Pascal, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Shane Shillingford, Devon Smith, Devon Thomas