Skerritt ST JOHN'S, CANA:
THE West Indies cricketers were hampered yesterday by a delay in the arrival of their gear, as they prepare for Wednesday's second Cable and Wireless One-day international against South Africa.
The Windies squad arrived from Kingston late Sunday afternoon without 25 pieces of their luggage, reducing them to only a light physical session on Monday. The gear was expected to late Monday afternoon.
Still the West Indies maintained high spirits as they take a 1-0 lead into the game after a thrilling three-wicket triumph Saturday at Sabina Park in the opener of the seven-game series.
"Obviously we were very happy for the victory," team manager Ricky Skerritt said on the CANASport radio programme yesterday.
"We worked hard and we were relieved that we saw it through in the end. It became a little more difficult at the end than perhaps it should have been, but I think it's good to have another victory under our belt," added Skerritt about the Windies' struggle to achieve a moderate winning target of 201.
Skerritt also gave positive news from his camp about captain Carl Hooper, who suffered painful cramps towards while batting.
"Fortunately he is recovering well and he should be fine for the match on Wednesday," Skerritt said.
On a very hot afternoon, Hooper suffered from dehydration, which triggered the cramps.
"He was suffering from cramps very early in his innings, he had sent messages out to us and we were feeding him with fluids but unfortunately the cramps were so bad that he was under treatment for the rest of the evening," Skerritt said.
