HARARE, Zimbabwe, CMC: ENCOURAGED by their performance in the opening tour match, West Indies are looking forward to the opening cricket Test against Zimbabwe, starting at the Harare Sports Club today.
Except for Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies final 11 is a carbon copy to the side that won the last Test of two against Sri Lanka at Kingston last June at the end of a morale-boosting home series that also included a series against world champions Australia.
"We are ready for the Test. Judging from the last few days, the intensity at training, and the way we played in the three-day tour match against Zimbabwe 'A', it is very encouraging.
"The captain is very, very keen to start on a winning note and so too the players. We are looking forward to the opportunity over the next few days to come out on top.
"We are not going to be taking anything for granted. We are going to go out there and play as aggressively as we can. We want to be able to start in front and stay out front."
HAND INJURY
Chanderpaul returns to the Test team after missing the series against Sri Lanka with a hand injury. He takes the place Omari Banks. The off-spin all rounder has been laid low with a stomach complaint for the past four days and has not fully recovered.
This means that West Indies captain Brian Lara will enter the Test with the same four-pronged pace attack that bowled the side to a seven-wicket victory over the Lankans in June.
Corey Collymore will spearhead the bowling, while Vasbert Drakes will provide the experience. Teenager Jerome Taylor, who pressed his claim for selection with a 10-wicket haul in the tour match, and Fidel Edwards, who is likely to share the new ball with Collymore, will offer support.
It means that West Indies will take the field without Mervyn Dillon, their most capped and successful bowler.
Lara will have to rely on Chris Gayle's off-spin, vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan's leg-spin and, perhaps, Chanderpaul's leg-spin too, for his slow bowling options.
BATTING
The West Indies batting on paper looks formidable. Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds, despite missing out in the opening tour match, seem to be the long-term option for the opening positions and have been paired together again.
The middle-order with Daren Ganga at three, Lara at four, Sarwan at five, Chanderpaul at six, and wicket-keeper/batsman Ridley Jacobs at seven looks as solid as a rock and should give the Zimbabwean bowlers some problems if they hit their straps.
Unfortunately, Marlon Samuels, who hit a half-century and a century in the opening tour match, will have to sit out this Test, but his chance will surely come and his form will serve as a reminder to those picked ahead of him that the cupboard is not altogether bare. Zimbabwe, in the midst of rebuilding their side following the retirements of Andy Flower, Alistair Campbell, Guy Whittall and Henry Olonga during and after the Cricket World Cup 2003, have also been rocked with injury to three seasoned players.
Grant Flower, Sean Ervine and Douglas Hondo are all missing and this will inevitably weaken both the batting and bowling. Yet, the Zimbabweans felt there were some encouraging performances in their last series against Australia in Australia that might merit some optimism.
They have boldly included two young, uncapped black batsmen in their line-up. Vusimuzi Sibanda, an attacking batsman, who scored 51 for Zimbabwe 'A' in the first innings of the tour match, will open the batting, and the highly regarded Stuart Matsikenyeri should add some substance to the middle-order as well as provide another bowling option for Heath Streak.
West Indies needs to win both matches in the two-Test series against Zimbabwe to improve their rating in the International Cricket Council Test Championship table.
West Indies are currently eighth in the official standings with a rating of 83 which is eight behind Sri Lanka in seventh. A 2-0 series win would close that gap to six points by boosting the West Indies rating to 85, but a 1-0 series win would see no change.
Teams:
WEST INDIES: Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Daren Ganga, Brian Lara (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ridley Jacobs, Vasbert Drakes, Jerome Taylor, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards.
ZIMBABWE: Vusimuzi Sibanda, Trevor Gripper, Stuart Carlisle, Craig Wishart, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Mark Vermeulen, Tatenda Taibu, Andy Blignaut, Heath Streak (captain), Ray Price, Blessing Mahwire.
UMPIRES: Simon Taufel, Billy Bowden.
MATCH REFEREE: Gundappa Viswanath.
