TAROUBA, Trinidad, CMC – For many, the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup for West Indies starts when they face New Zealand in their third Group C match on Wednesday.
The two teams collide under the lights at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in south Trinidad. The Caribbean side is aiming for its third successive win, which will catapult it into the Super Eight quarterfinal stage and, more or less, put the Black Caps on the brink of elimination from the tournament.
West Indies were able to ease their way into the tournament with a five-wicket win against Papua New Guinea and a 134-run win against Uganda in their two matches at the Guyana National Stadium this past week.
But their captain Rovman Powell admitted New Zealand are more formidable opponents, and his side will have to be at their very best to get the best of the Black Caps, trying to recover from a shocking opening defeat against Afghanistan when they were bowled out for 84 in Guyana.
“I think we are pretty confident, and the guys have been playing some excellent cricket,” he told reporters in a Tuesday-match news conference. “New Zealand will pose different challenges from our first two opponents – but we are focusing on ourselves, and once we play good cricket, we should be OK.”
Some may consider that the West Indies were provided with a favorable group and required a slice of good fortune to qualify for the final eight—and that occurred when Afghanistan took down the New Zealanders in their opening match.
The tournament co-hosts know they can guarantee to finish above the Black Caps in the group table, and there are still doubters, but Powell said his team’s record over the past 15 months suggested something different.
“I think if you look at the last year or so, we have played good T20 cricket, so it’s just a continuation of us doing that even though it is a World Cup,” he said.
“The guys have done a lot of hard work coming into this World Cup, so hopefully, we can show the benefits of that hard work. It’s [one] of the more traditional teams, but I think we should be OK once we focus on ourselves.”
West Indies are seeking an unprecedented third world T20 title and trying to accomplish the feat on home soil, something that has never occurred before. Still, Powell said his side was managing the expectations that have come with such an attempt.
“I think the expectations are on the back of us playing good T20 cricket, which has resulted in us being ranked No. 4 in the world now,” he said.
“It is for us to continue to manage those expectations, and I think the guys have done that, but we are playing at home, and expectations and pressure will always be there. It’s just for us to keep playing good cricket and entertaining the fans.”
Powell said the BLCA will hold fond memories for the West Indies after they toppled England for a series-clinching 3-2 win last December at the ground. Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie shared eight wickets for 44 between them, and the Caribbean side hoped that familiarity would breed success against New Zealand.
“Those performances [against England last year] give us confidence in knowing that it is our conditions, and we understand our conditions, and the results have gone our way at the BLCA,” he said.
“I think that is additional confidence for us that they have prepared different surfaces, and we have played on them and did well, so that is good for us as a team.”
Squads:
WEST INDIES (from): Rovman Powell (captain), Alzarri Joseph, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd.
NEW ZEALAND (from): Kane Williamson (captain), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.
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