BALAGOLLA, Sri Lanka – West Indies white ball head coach, Daren Sammy is optimistic that the West Indies can produce a better showing against England than they did on their just concluded tour of Sri Lanka.
The Windies lost both the T20I and ODI series against the home side 2-1 on the back of shoddy fielding, undisciplined bowling and sub-par batting efforts.
They will return to Antigua on Monday to prepare for England’s visit for the three-match ODI and five-match T20I series, which run from October 31 until November 17.
Sammy said while he was pleased the West Indies ended the tour on a winning note by registering an eight-wicket victory in the third and final ODI on Saturday, he said he was not satisfied with the team’s overall performance in Sri Lanka.
In the third and final ODI on Saturday, opening batsman Lewis recorded his fifth One Day International century (102 runs) which helped West Indies register an eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka. Lewis scored 102 runs came off 61 balls with nine fours and four sixes, while Rutherford added 50 runs off 26 balls and his innings included four fours and three sixes.
Following a five-hour delay at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium because of persistent showers, Sri Lanka’s innings eventually ended on 156 for three from 23 overs. The West Indies then easily overhauled their Duckworth-Lewis-Stern revised target of 195 in 23 overs, finishing on 196 for two with six balls to spare, and avoided a sweep by the home team. The series ended 2-1.
“We showed today [Saturday] what we can do when we put our minds to committing to a plan especially with the bat, batting with intent.
“Evin Lewis in his first game back after almost three years, the way he played was just amazing and Rutherford has been good throughout the series with three consecutive fifties. Those were two shining lights for us throughout the series,” Sammy pointed out.
“However, I have to be honest. The way we fielded and the way we bowled throughout the series has not been up to the mark and when we were challenged on spin friendly wickets our batsmen did not respond.
“So, all in all, it’s good to finish with an emphatic win heading into the England series, but a lot of learning from this trip,” he admitted.
Despite losing both series in Sri Lanka, Sammy said he was buoyed by the fact that the last time England played a white ball series in the Caribbean in 2023, the West Indies won the ODI series 2-1 and the T20 series 3-2.
He said he was confident the West Indies could continue their trend of playing well at home when the first ODI bowls off on Thursday at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
“…We head off home and we are right back to it versus England so hopefully better conditions and our batsmen and our team can give a good account of themselves versus England,” Sammy said.
“I’m looking forward to it. The last time it was in the Caribbean we won both series. We created history in our ODI series and there’s something about West Indians, whenever it’s time to play England, they are always up for the challenge. It’s a big rivalry and we’re at home.
“Over the last year to 18 months we’ve done really well at home in white ball so we get off the plane, right back at it and hopefully we could give a better display than what we did in Sri Lanka,” he added.
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