KINGSTOWN, St Vincent — World Champions West Indies will be going all out to beat Pakistan in the two-match Twenty20 International Series this weekend at the picturesque Arnos Vale Cricket Ground.
The two teams will meet on Saturday and Sunday in what will be the first T20 Internationals to be played at the stadium. First ball on both days is 2 pm (1 pm Jamaica Time).
Captain Darren Sammy said it was important West Indies continue their winning form in the weekend contests.
“We are the world champions and we plan to come out and play like world champions,” a confident Sammy said after Friday’s morning training session.
“We have some of the best players in the world in our dressing room and we all believe we can come out here and beat Pakistan. This will be an historic weekend as the people here in St Vincent will get to see their first T20 International and I know the fans will come out and support us as they always do.”
West Indies have played unbeaten in this format since they won the ICC World T20 Tournament in Sri Lanka last October and Sammy said his team will look to maintain their unbeaten run as they start to build towards the ICC World T20 tournament in Bangladesh early next year.
Since the World T20 triumph West Indies beat Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla in Dhaka last December, defeated Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane in February and had back-to-back wins over Zimbabwe at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua in March.
“We are presently listed at Number 2 in the ICC T20 rankings and if we win this weekend we will move closer to the Number 1 position. We want to be Number 1 in the world so in order to do that we need to win and prove our strength,” Sammy added.
“We are looking towards defending our World T20 title. As everyone is aware, the tournament is due to be played in Bangladesh next year and we want to make sure we will be ready when the time comes. This weekend offers a great opportunity for players to put their hands up and be counted in a major way.”
FULL SQUAD:
Darren Sammy (Captain)
Samuel Badree
Christopher Barnwell
Tino Best
Darren Bravo
Dwayne Bravo
Johnson Charles
Shannon Gabriel
Chris Gayle
Kieron Pollard
Sunil Narine
Marlon Samuels
Lendl Simmons
Match Schedule – Play starts 2 pm
Arnos Vale Cricket Ground, St Vincent
Saturday July 27 – First T20 International
Sunday July 28 – Second T20 International