After nearly two weeks of preparation in Bulawayo, the Men in Maroon interim head coach is eagerly awaiting the first ball of the series on Saturday morning. According to Andre Coley, the preparation has been sufficient, with numerous practice sessions and a dominant display in the three-day warm-up match against the Zimbabwe XI, across town at the Bulawayo Sports Club.
Now the attention switches to the “big show” – the first Test against Zimbabwe, and the location moves to the Queens Sports Club, where the two teams will meet.
“We are confident that the areas that we wanted to address and spend some time on, we were able to do so. The facilities have generally been good and offered us enough to get through what we needed to,” Coley told CWI Media.
He also expressed pleasure at the way the players have been responding to the training, noting that they have been putting in extra work in the nets and on fitness. Regarding getting ahead and eventually winning the series, he is looking for consistency in all areas.
Wary that Zimbabwe are highly competitive at home, the West Indies will be eager to start the year right, having enjoyed some success in the longest format over the past 18 months and a series in South Africa to follow.
The first Test will begin on Saturday, 4 February. The first ball is 10 am (4 am Eastern Caribbean/3 am Jamaica).
FULL SQUAD
Kraigg Brathwaite (captain)
Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain)
Nkrumah Bonner
Tagnarine Chanderpaul
Roston Chase
Joshua Da Silva
Shannon Gabriel
Jason Holder
Alzarri Joseph
Kyle Mayers
Gudakesh Motie
Raymon Reifer
Kemar Roach
Devon Thomas
Jomel Warrican
MATCH SCHEDULE
4-8 February: 1st Test at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
12-16 February: 2nd Test at Queens Sports Club