MUMBAI, India, CMC – As the West Indies head into their crucial matchup against England in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Wednesday, head coach Daren Sammy is banking on his team’s power hitting and a disciplined bowling effort to get them over the line.
The two rivals face off at Wankhede Stadium following contrasting victories in their openers. While the West Indies brushed aside Scotland by 35 runs, England escaped with a narrow four-run victory over Nepal.
Speaking in a pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Sammy said he hopes the Windies shine with both bat and ball in what he believes will be a high-scoring contest.
“We play against each other in very high-scoring games. The surface here at Wankhede tells you that you need to put some good runs on the board if you bat first.
“What I would say is that in 2016, we were known for our six-hitting, but the world has caught up to that. Everybody now hits sixes, and they run really well between the wickets; they score off more balls, so we have a lot to do. But then again, we probably might have to hit more sixes, something we were able to do when we dominated during that era,” Sammy said.
“Tomorrow we’re going to have to be smart. Both teams have that power. I think it will rely on which team executes better with the ball, because I think we could match each other when it comes to six-hitting.”
While Sammy said the team was extremely focused, he said they were taking it “one game at a time”.
The two-time World Cup winner maintained that their goal was to lift the title for an unprecedented third time ultimately.
“When we left home, we were in this tournament to win it. I’m pretty sure that’s the goal of every team. Not only tomorrow’s game, I think every game is very important…The team is in a very good mental space right now. The way the guys have been preparing has been really good; the discussions around the planning show a focused team.
“We’re not going to think too far ahead. As I said, England is the challenge tomorrow, they’re a very good side, they’ve got so many match winners, and we have to plan really well and play really well to beat them,” Sammy admitted.
“Is it impossible? No, we don’t think so, but as you see, T20 is a game where the shorter the format, the closer teams are brought together. You’ve seen so many close games where one team looks like they are in a really good position, so again, I say it’s a battle versus execution of skills with both bat and ball. We want to have that all-around game against England tomorrow to win.”
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