Hope, Sammy confident ahead of opener against USA

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CMC):

WEST INDIES captain, Shai Hope, and head coach, Daren Sammy, exuded confidence on the eve of their opening match against the United States in the ICC Men’s One-day International Cricket World Cup Qualifier today in Zimbabwe.

Hope and Sammy said the two-time World Cup champions will be hoping for a winning start to the tournament at the Takashinga Cricket Club in an effort towards punching their ticket to India 2023.

“Preparation has been going well,” Hope told ICC Media.

“As a team, we are focusing on mindset and consistent execution. We have a number of impact players, so any one of them can win us a game at any stage of the tournament.”

The Caribbean side will enter the tournament in a good frame of mind after they swept hosts United Arab Emirates in three One-day Internationals in Sharjah without several regulars before arriving for the tournament two Saturdays ago.

At full strength for the qualifier, they brushed aside Scotland and the same opponents in two official warm-up matches during the past week.

“We want to go in the tournament and start really well, but I think, my guys, the way we’ve prepared, what I’ve seen, we’re ready to take on the challenges the other teams going forward to us,” Sammy said during a news conference.

“It’s about focusing on us and executing the plans that we have put in place, and so far, I could see massive steps being taken in that direction.”

West Indies have been drawn in Group A for the qualifier, alongside Nepal, Netherlands, United States, and hosts Zimbabwe.

After the Americans, they face Nepal on Thursday, June 22, at the Harare Sports Club, where they also face the Zimbabweans on Saturday, June 24, and the Netherlands on Monday, June 26.

The Caribbean side have never missed an ODI World Cup, though they were forced to go through the same tournament in the same place five years ago to qualify for England 2019, where they finished ninth.

NO ILLUSIONS

Sammy said his side were under no illusions about the task ahead of them because all 10 teams taking part in the tournament wanted to qualify for the World Cup.

“You have got 10 teams and two spots available, so it’s about who wants it most, and for us, it’s one game at a time and the focus solely on (Sunday) is USA, and not looking too far ahead, but USA, what they bring, the challenges they bring to us, and make sure we don’t let that get the better of us,” he said.

The top three sides in each group will advance to the Super Six stage, with the bottom two sides in each group playing off to decide the seventh to 10th placings.

At the Super Six stage, the teams will play the three qualifiers from the other group, with the two results against teams from their own group carrying forward from the group stage.

The Super Six stage will commence on June 29, and for the first time in this tournament, DRS will be used for all matches from this stage onwards.

The top two teams after the Super Six stage will be able to book their tickets to India as the two qualifiers for the Cricket World Cup 2023.

They will also play off to be crowned qualifier champions in the final on July 9.

Squads:

UNITED STATES: Monank Patel (captain), Aaron Jones (vice-captain), Abhishek Paradkar, Ali Khan, Gajanand Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Kyle Philip, Nisarg Patel, Nostush Kenjige, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Saurabh Netravalkar, Shayan Jahangir, Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Usman Rafiq.

WEST INDIES: Shai Hope (captain), Rovman Powell (vice-captain), Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd.