Injuries worry Windies, Zimbabwe

Chanderpaul saw a internal medicine specialist on Thursday and until his status is certain, fellow left-hander Adrian Griffith, who had been omitted from the limited-overs squad, has been asked to remain in Jamaica.

Skerritt was almost certain King would play in the back-to-back matches. “Reon has been essentially declared fit and is training with the team right now,” he asserted.

Andy Flower, the Zimbabwe captain, expressed similar confidence about Streak, whose only contribution in the second Test was a brief knock of two in the first innings before he pulled out with back spasms.

“He has had a long rest and his spasms have eased,” Flower remarked. “There is a strong possibility that he will be ready for Saturday.” Though the 2-0 series result for West Indies suggests they completely outplayed Zimbabwe, this was far from the truth.

Both Flower and West Indies captain Jimmy Adams are expecting two keenly-contested matches over the weekend to open the series which also involves the unpredictable Pakistanis.

Zimbabwe, who have never beaten West Indies in an international match, will be hoping to rebound from the Test series defeat in the form of the game which they have gained some measure of success.

“Last time I looked at our statistics, we had won about 26 per cent of our matches which is not a great record,” noted Flower. “As a young cricket nation, I think it’s a good and we have had some really good wins in the past. We have never won a limited-overs competition against the major nations and we will obviously love to do that at some stage.”

Zimbabwe reached the Super Sixes stage of last year’s World Cup in England and only once have they reached the final of an international limited-overs competition involving the major nations.

“We have set ourselves the goal of reaching the final of this competition and hopefully go on to win it,” Flower said. “It will be very important for our country and our cricket if we do it.”

Gary Brent, Guy Whittall and Dirk Viljoen have replaced Bryan Strang, Mpumelelo Mbangwa and Trevor Gripper in Zimbabwe’s 16-member limited-overs squad. Whittall and Viljoen practised at Sabina Park but Whittall, who was only passed fit a few days ago after recovering from a knee operation, was expected to reach Kingston late on Thursday night.

On the basis of their Test series win, along with their proud record against Zimbabwe and at home, West Indies will start favourites in the series. Adams will not be excepting complacency from his side though.

“We have a triangular series with three international teams desperate for wins and that is a recipe for some good, exciting cricket, so there will be no easing up on our part,” he commented.

Adams wants to see his side become more consistent in the limited-overs game after a few lukewarm performances in recent times. “We can put it all under the same umbrella as we did with the longer version of the game. We need to become more consistent in this form of the game because there is too much at stake as we found out in the World Cup last year. So we need to step up and improve in a lot of areas.”

West Indies made four additions to their squad to boost the number to 16. They omitted Courtney Walsh, the leading bowler in Tests, from the squad chosen for the Test series, and have recalled Philo Wallace, Laurie Williams, Mervyn Dillon and Nixon McLean.

Good conditions are expected to greet the two teams and tickets for both matches this weekend are almost sold out.

Teams (from)

West Indies: Jimmy Adams (captain), Sherwin Campbell (vice-captain), Philo Wallace, Adrian Griffith, Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Wavel Hinds, Ricardo Powell, Ridley Jacobs, Curtly Ambrose, Laurie Williams, Nehemiah Perry, Franklyn Rose, Nixon McLean, Mervyn Dillon, Reon King.

Zimbabwe: Andy Flower (captain), Heath Streak (vice-captain), Alistair Campbell, Murray Goodwin, Dirk Viljoen, Henry Olonga, Neil Johnson, Grant Flower, Stuart Carlisle, Mluleki Nkala, Brian Murphy, Andy Blignaut, Craig Wishart, Guy Whittall, Gary Brent, Tatenda Taibu.