Coach Dyson plans aggressive cricket

Published: Wednesday | June 24, 2009


West Indies coach John Dyson said his team will play aggressive cricket in the opening match of the four-game one-day international series against India, which begins at Sabina Park on Friday.

"We will play aggressive cricket, we will play to win as always, and we will aim for consistency of performance," said Dyson following his arrival at the Norman International Airport yesterday.

"There is a lot of cricket in any calendar year for cricketers, but that's what professional cricket's about. They have a lot of cricket to play. They earn good money from playing cricket and it's part of the job," Dyson said.

Dyson added that he was expecting a total team effort from all his players.

"The squad's balanced fairly well. If you look at the possible side that could walk on the field, we've got an extra batsman, we have an all-rounder who is also a very good batsman, (we have) normal pace and reserve pace, which is good. Our spinner (Sulieman Benn), hopefully Chris (Gayle) will be providing back-up spin to him," he said.

Dyson continued: "The players love the sunshine on their back, they like the warmer temperature, the local food. Of course, they like being home. They missed their families while they were away in England and getting back to the Caribbean will suit them down to the ground."

Wins depend on the pitches

When asked if the Windies would target specific Indian players, Dyson said: "We always look at the opposition and try and determine who the key players are for the opposition and think of ways that we may combat those key players. What we don't know, of course, is from the lower-profile players, how they are going to perform and perform consistently throughout a series. So that's something we have to monitor as the series progresses."

Dyson added that a series victory for the Windies would be determined by how the pitches played. "It depends on the sort of wickets we're playing on, on the conditions of the day, and the form our own players are in, and the opposition players are in," Dyson concluded.