Renaldo Matadeen
Ottis Gibson, the West Indies head coach, believes the impromptu India
series will be the most stern test for his team’s progress since their
T20 World Cup title in Sri Lanka. Gibson admitted that he was eager
for the India Tests after many pundits failed to rate the West Indies
Test victories over Zimbabwe and Bangladesh as noteworthy.“If you look at the last six Tests we played, we won them. It’s been
good progress but I know people aren’t considering them as big wins,”
Gibson said. “Against India however, we can really gauge the progress.
I’d never discount wins against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh though because
they are upcoming and talented but India will be an immense challenge
and we’re looking forward to it.”
He alluded to Chris Gayle as a key factor for the upcoming series as
he feels the team is stronger, especially with players like Sunil
Narine garnering more experience. The IPL has also bred familiarity
for his players on India pitches, which he hoped would boost their
chances. “We were in India a couple of years ago and played good
cricket, but didn’t win. Now the team dynamic is different, and with
Gayle back, we’ll give a tougher run.
“Then, against New Zealand, we’ll be looking to move to number five in
the Test rankings as that’s our aim. I want to put some distance
between us and them but they gave England a tough time in the Tests,
so it won’t be easy. India into New Zealand is a tough duo to tour.”
Gibson stated that while they weren’t expecting the India series, he
was confident they would be sufficiently prepared with a fitness
testing at month’s end and a small training camp prior to departure in
October. With New Zealand looming after and a January return home for
his charges, Gibson did add that rest was needed, as well as family
downtime, for his players.
“It’s a challenge. We were preparing for New Zealand and now
everything gets fast-forwarded for the India series. It just sprung up
and the guys will spend a long time away from home. We have to get the
balance right, but we’re preparing to get the cricket aspects right
first. I’d like my players to have their family time, so we’ll sort
this out.”
Gibson also warned that the T20 laurels needed to be put to bed for
the time being to focus on the other formats. “Test cricket is getting
exciting. We can’t forget about the T20 World Cup defense but we need
to park it for now as it’s a little bit away. We’ll defend that
because we believe we have the best T20 players in the world. Once we
keep the same core and mentality from the last World Cup, we’ll repeat
in Bangladesh.”
He was more critical of their ODI performances and added that the
selectors were moving closer to formulating a core 15 for the 2015
World Cup in Australia. “We know our ODI team is hit and miss at the
moment so we, and the selectors, are concerned. We’ve changed leaders
and we have time to prep for 2015. In the next six to twelve months,
we’ll assess and have a core unit. We have world-class players for
various situations so we’ll see how it goes.”
