WI chomping at bit over CWC preparation

 COLOMBO—An upbeat West Indies arrived here Friday, anxious to begin their preparations for the next month’s World Cup. The team touched down here in the early morning intransit from London, following their flight form the Caribbean on Tuesday. “For us the World Cup starts now! This series is a wonderful opportunity for us as players and for us as a team to get used to the conditions on the sub-continent,” captain Darren Sammy said ahead of Monday’s opening match of the three-match One-Day International series against Sri Lanka on Monday. “We have a good squad, with a good blend of youth and experience. We expect the three matches will be very competitive and will form the ideal build-up as we look ahead to the Cricket World Cup. “We hope to have a good time of it here in Sri Lanka before we move over to India for the World Cup.”

West Indies is using the three-match series to beef up preparations for the February 19 to April 2 showpiece where they will do battle in Group B alongside Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, the Netherlands and South Africa. The Caribbean side, which has not reached the final four of the competition since 1996, are expected to face a tough challenge especially in the testing conditions expected in the host nations India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Sammy said his side was focused on playing consistent cricket despite the challenge of playing on the subcontinent.

“Whatever the conditions we want to go out there and play. We want to get in as much quality cricket as we can,” the all-rounder stressed. “We are all ready to play cricket, that is what we are here for and that is what we want to do.” All three matches in the upcoming ODI series will be played at the historic Sinhalese Sports Club on January 31, February 3 and 6. The squad will then remain in Colombo for their two warm-up matches against Kenya on February 12th and Sri Lanka on February 16. (CMC)