JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – The upcoming three-match Test Series against South Africa presents a massive opportunity for the members of the West Indies team to step up and be counted in a major way.
This is the view of West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin, as the visitors put in their final preparations for the opening Test match, which bowls off on Wednesday at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. First ball is 10:30 am daily (4:30 am Eastern Caribbean Time/3:30 am Jamaica Time).
Ramdin spoke to members of the media on the eve of the match and added that it will be a challenging series but one which his side can win against the Number 1 ranked team in the Test Match format.
Please see below quick quotes as Ramdin spoke to members of the media.
On the team’s readiness for the series:
We have prepared well. Now is the best place to start as we look to put some performances together…now we have to go out and show that it was meaningful preparation. We have to make sure that we make the most of the hard work we have put in, in the build-up. Trying to beat them is going to be difficult, but we have a confident team and we believe in our ability. The last time we played here we won the first Test match and that set-up a very good series. That was due to the self-belief among everyone in the team. I will remind the team of that occasion as we look to start on a positive note.
On the key areas in the series:
We have made some positive steps. We have young Kraigg Brathwaite at the top of the order and he got a double hundred earlier this year, so he is one player who we will look at to give us a solid performance in the batting. So far we are on the right step…we just need to be more consistent all round. The batting hasn’t been up to scratch over the past couple of years and it will be up to myself, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels – the experienced players – to put up our hands and perform as we go along. The bowling is good and we have some outstanding fast bowlers who will enjoy bowling in these conditions. Kemar Roach is ranked among the top bowlers in the world and Jerome Taylor has come back with some excellent performances for us in Test cricket. Sheldon Cottrell could be a surprise…at some point he will be a surprise package. If we look at the Australia series, Mitchell Johnson had success against South Africa. If Sheldon is in the team, I’m sure he will do something special for us.
On the challenge of winning the series
They are the Number 1 team and they have been doing some very good things for the past few years and that is what has put them at the top of the rankings. So we know it won’t be easy to topple them but it is a challenge we look forward to. We’ve had several meetings and we have planned, and we looked at every member of their team, but we know that we will require a complete team effort to win over here. I relish the opportunity as captain to lead from the front. Once everyone does their part, once we put in some good partnerships at the bottom of the order and everyone contributes we can do something special. Looking at the pitch, it looks a very good one, come tomorrow morning we will look to get out in the middle and give the South Africans a good challenge.
FULL SQUAD
Denesh Ramdin (Captain)
Sulieman Benn
Jermaine Blackwood
Kraigg Braithwaite
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Sheldon Cottrell
Assad Fudadin
Shannon Gabriel
Jason Holder
Leon Johnson
Kemar Roach
Marlon Samuels
Devon Smith
Jerome Taylor
Chadwick Walton
SCHEDULE OF MATCHES
December 10-12: vs SA Invitational XI – Willowmore Park, Benoni – Match Drawn
December 17-21: 1st Test – SuperSport Park, Centurion
December 26-30: 2nd Test – St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth
January 2-6: 3rd Test – Newlands, Cape Town
January 9: 1st T20I – Newlands, Cape Town
January 11: 2nd T20I – New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
January 14: 3rd T20I – Kingsmead, Durban
January 16: 1st ODI – Kingsmead, Durban
January 18: 2nd ODI – New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
January 21: 3rd ODI – Buffalo Park, East London
January 25: 4th ODI – St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth
January 28: 5th ODI – SuperSport Park, Centurion
TOUR NOTES:
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