zimcricketnews.com

A few quotes from before the match. First up is Windies team manager Clive Lloyd:

“We are taking this tour very seriously. Zimbabwe are looking to regain their Test position and they have done well against some Test sides; so the games will be very tough. We are hoping to meet that challenge and go to South Africa on a winning note.”

Chris Gayle, stand-in captain for the tour in place of Ramnaresh Sarwan, isn’t bothered by the extra responsibility of the captaincy, and is well aware of the banana skins that weaker sides can present:

“It’s an extra responsibility on my shoulders, yes, but I am used to that as an opening batsman as I have to lead from the front.”

“Returning to Zimbabwe is special for me and evokes several fond memories of past success and celebrations. It was the scene of my maiden Test century in July 2001 (175 at Queen’s Sports Club in Bulawayo) and some good one-day knocks too. Naturally, I would love to pick up the rich batting form which I have enjoyed over here on previous tours. However, personal exploits - while very important - will be secondary to team goals. I cannot stress enough that we must not take Zimbabwe for granted. They can beat the best of teams on their day and the last thing we need is to fall victim to a bad case of complacency against a talented unit which has nothing to lose in front of their home crowd.

Zim coach Robin Brown is expecting great things from his charges:

“I think the days of just playing to compete are over. We just have to play our game: use the same principles, the same approach…keep it easy.”

“It seems there’s pressure now but we do not have to succumb to pressure because if we do that then we will give it to the West Indies. The last time we played West Indies (at home) we took a 2-1 lead but then the game did not go our way and we ended up losing and so we hope to reverse that. There is nothing better than spending more time on the crease for a batsman and improve on the bowling skill for the bowlers. And that is what the players did in South Africa because they did what we wanted and we came out with a pleasing result. We used the basic techniques and that surely helped the team and so for the series against West Indies we just picked our best 11 players to take to the field.”

Finally, Zim captain Prosper Utseya isn’t surprised by his recent batting form - he’s becoming quite the all-rounder - and is looking forward to the return of Ray Price:

“I have always worked hard on my batting. It was just a matter of time before I delivered. If we look at the league that we (Zimbabwe Select) have been playing in (South Africa) I have been scoring 50’s so I have to continue working hard and maintain the streak.”

“Price is experienced. We share ideas and I’m always learning from him. If I bowl well and he bowls well we can do well, and that’s good for the team.”