Nottingham, England – Darren Sammy said West Indies have never lost a first-class match at Trent Bridge, let alone a Test, and his side would like to preserve this cherished record, when they face England in the second Test, starting on Friday here.
Of the eight Tests Windies teams have played at the ground over the years, they have won four and drawn four; and of the 14 tour matches, they have won four and drawn 10.
“West Indies have not lost a first-class match at this ground, so it’s been a happy hunting ground for our teams over the years,” said Sammy on the eve of the Test.
“Maybe, our guys can take encouragement from this and look to put in a better display than we did at Lord’s.”
The visitors lost by five wickets in the first Test, which ended three days ago at the “spiritual home” of the game, giving England a 1-0 lead in this current three-match series.
Sammy said West Indies will be looking to put up a keen fight to keep this series alive.
“We have nothing to lose, since everybody has written us off,” he said. “But if we can go out there and have our moments of brilliance in the Test, we can gain confidence from this.
“West Indies have never lost a game at Trent Bridge, and the guys are quite optimistic that once we can execute all the things we have discussed in the team meetings about the different players, we have shown we can get 20 wickets.”
“We have shown we are capable of scoring 350 runs-plus, as we came close to doing in the second innings of the first Test, and this was after losing our top three cheaply, so if we can post a very good total, we can look to get a victory in this Test match.”
West Indies have not won a Test in England, since Jimmy Adams’ side crushed the hosts by an innings and 93 runs at Edgbaston in Birmingham, the venue for the final Test, starting on June 7.
Sammy said West Indies had a lot to gain if they can find the winning formula in this Test.
“At the start of the series, we said we were going to come with a never-say-die attitude, and when everybody wrote us off. . .we took [the first Test] past lunch on the final day and this is the attitude we have brought to England,” he said.
“We want to come out and play hard and push the No.1 team in the World, and hopefully, when we have their backs up against the wall, to maintain pressure and look to get a result.”
He added: “Being successful means that you need victories – and this is something that has eluded us, although we’ve played some good cricket. We need to find that first victory to get the dressing room pumped up.
“Hopefully, we could do it here, where we are playing the No.1 Test side in the World, and if we could win in England, which we have not done for a long time, it would be a major accomplishment for this team.”
Bright sunshine and warm temperatures again greeted the visitors when they trained at the match venue on Thursday – and the weather seemed set fair for the duration of the Test.
I hope West Indies can indeed find the winning formula in this test match. At the end of Day 2, I sincerely believed that we were on our way to preserving one of West Indies last few cherished records. I expected a score of 400+ in the first inning- that was not to be. The momentum is shifting England’s way on Day 3 with Shillingford being effectively hit out of the attack, Strauss on 102*, Pietersen 72* and trailing by only 111 runs with 8 wickets in hand. I hope WI does well. However, based on the team’s recent amazing collapses, particularly in the 2nd innings –you just never know.
Sammy and the guys understand that their performance as a team impacts the mood and the productivity of their supporters. He is wrong to say “we have nothing to lose, since everybody has written the WI off.” We, the true fans have not, albeit it would appear that some players, coaches, selectors may have done just that.
Over the years even with a team blessed with the extraordinary talent of Lara, Galye, Sarwan et ql, we have witnessed a team with “moments of brilliance” facing defeat after defeat and establishing dubious rather than cherished records. We continue to slide lower in the international rankings. We now require a greater effort from all parties including the players, the captain, the coaches, the WICB (its selectors and COE).
This effort should not fall short of the immediate recall of Gayle, Sarwan and Bravo. Whereas Gayle must be a team player who understands that he is not bigger than the team, the WICB must also embrace the dynamics of globalization and the pressures faced by star players with international demand for their talents. Star international players cannot be treated as ‘little boys’. Players have rights too. I respect the fight to protect such rights. Management needs to be more sensitive to the economic realities of players. It must work closely with our star players so that they can contribute to the development of WI cricket while remaining free to exploit other international opportunities.
Finally, the fans who supported the WI, Chris Galye’s Bangalore Challengers in the IPL, and the Lakers basketball team, understand how depressing it was last week when these teams were knocked out of their respective tournaments on the same day. These defeats had a negative impact on our productivity the following day. Such is the impact when WI fails to impress. So Sammy- there is lot to lose, if we fail to win this one.
I have been watching the test matches on Sportmax
and I feel if west indies team has to win a test
match they have to do better in the fielding department. These guys are not pulling their wait in the field. You cannot win matches if you are not fielding properly.
well he had better start winning matches,otherwise he will go down as the worst captain in west indies cricket.
Sammy congratulations to you on your first century.Keep it up and keep captaining the side with faith!
I am always upset when Windies loosing a game, but I am always hopeful for their next match. They need our support, I think this team is trying, we should not turn our backs on them. Let’s give them a chance.
I LOVE IT WHEN SAMMY REPLIES TO HIS CRITICS WITH POWERFUL PERFORMANCES.JUST A FEW DAYS A AGO, MIKE HOLDING WAS TELLING THE CRICKETING WORLD THAT SAMMY DIDNOT DESERVE HIS PLACE ON THE WEST INDIES TEAM, ACCORDING TO BLESSING, HE WAS TALKING AT THE BOTH SIDES OF HIS MOUTH AND WHISTLING DOWN THE CENTER.MY PROBLEM WITH GUYS LIKE HOLDING IS NOT REALLY A PERFORMANCE ISSUE,BUT A ST. LUCIAN ISSUE, YOU GET MY DRIFT.PRESENTLY SAMMY IS RANKED NUMBER 8 ON THE ICC RANKINGS AS AN ALLROUNDER,NUMBER 23 IN BOWLING AND NUMBER 63 IN BATTING.SAMMY’S UNDER STUDY FOR THE CAPTAINCY,KIRT EDWARDS FROM BARBADOS HAS NOT SCORED A GRAND TOTAL OF FIFTY RUNS IN HIS LAST FIVE INNINGS.
Michael holding’s comnment about the great partnership is “Finally Samuels is getting serious” Nothing about the small islander Sammy.
Sammy that was a wonderful captains innings.
West Indies cricket will always be ladened with politics and insularity.Presently you are the best we can find as captain, and you are proving a point to us..LOVE YOU BROTHER.
That’s what makes cricket so wonderful. A side can be 9 wickets down for 1 run, but still score 200.. LOVE YOU SAMMY. GREAT INNINGS. CAPTAIN’S INNINGS.
Sammy I am rooting for you all the way. I am praying that you reach your hundred. You are a good captain, and you have the interest of the team at heart. Tomorrow I am waking up at 6:00AM to watch the game. I will be glued to my TV. Goooooooooooooooo Captain.
Sammy i was at work and therefore did not see this innings from you brother. Hopefully tommorow during the first session we can take the match away from England.
I WILL ALWAYS BE YOU FAN, and what i love about you is that you are not flustered by the NAYSAYERS.. CAPTAINS INNINGS. GO FOR IT BROTHER!
SAMMY DON’T GIVE UP JUST KEEP THE FAITH AND ALL
WILL BE WELL. GOOD LUCK GUYS.
west indies doesn’t have a test team..There is only 1 batsman in the team.how are we gonna build scores,The first 4 are out without facing a ball,batting starts at 5 and ends at 8.No body wants to work hard for runs.The bulk of the bowlers are unfit and ill.Sammy has a good heart ,he plays within his limitations there is no one in the Caribbean today who commands a pick on this team except Chandi.We are destine to continue to loose if the top 4 are not dropped,these guys too careless.
ha ha ha ha sammy want to win his rounders match… chanderpual and samuels alone that playing cricket there.
You is mad people relative or what?
fool
DREAM DREAM DREAM Keep on dreaming:roll:
god’s blessings upon you young men. play from your heart, i know you all can
This records ends this game sorry to day look at the score even now. Bad board Captain keeps failing, and lack of experience is killing the team and at this rate even if they play a team like Canada their is a high chance of them losing that is what they are good at. guess they trying to make a new record. Sorry to say but that is the fact without a new board or the board swallow their pride and improve themselves the team is going no where in a hurry but just down hill.
take another look at the scoreboard now.
My sources are reporting to me that it is being rumored that if Sammy scores his century tomorrow, a lot of the haters may end up in the psychiatric unit tomorrow. What a situation.
Darren sammy said, “West Indies have never lost a first-class match at Trent Bridge, let alone a test, and his side would like to preserve this cherished record.”
The first part is true about our winning record there, but I think this record along with other records we as West Indians have cherrished is about to be gone as well.
When we secured all those records we had a West Indies team; this time around we don’t even have our best Windies A team, let alone a windies team that is built to preserve records.
For us to be competetive again, we need Gail at the top, Sawan instead of Kirk Edwards, and definitely either Dwayne Bravo or this young Jamaican all rounder who is in the IPL to replace captain Sammy. Also, we need a man coach to replace the boy coach Gibson. he to me is too childish and needs to learn to get the best out of his senior players instead of buiding walls that cannot be broken.
For us to even compete, Chander will have to score a big one but it will take him three days to score a hundred the way he batting. Let’s go Windies!
@As I see it #1 – Hello to you sir/madam. How are you doing? Once again as a faithful member of OPASH (Organsation of Pseudo-cricket Analysts & Sammy Haters) I see you have compiled another flawed exhortation.
You claim for us to be competitive we need people like Gayle, Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo in the team. Why then was the West Indies team during 2000 – 2009 era losing so consistently and embarrassingly while the above mentioned players were regular members of the team during that time period?
Remember Otis Gibson and Sammy came and met the Windies team drifting in the wilderness and are now leading a resurgence of a committed bunch of guys who put West Indies cricket and its people first and not the nonsense circus show in India called the IPL.
I will repeat again – Some people hate Sammy with a fervent heat equivalent to the heat of a 1000 suns; hence they cannot see the plain truth – this West Indies team is playing with passion and fighting head to head with higher ranked teams on a more consistent basis. Just a matter of time before the victories come around.
Channel 1, Let me make it clear to you again, that I don’t hate Sammy. I think he is a great young man with a strong heart, and very little talent to show for it. All I want him to do is perform and earn his pick.
I don’t what you talking about by saying Sammy and Ottis Gibson leading a resurgence. Since the two took over the West Indies, they only won 3 test matches and lost over 10.
When players like Dwayne Bravo, Gayle, and Sawan were on the team, they created some history and brought back some proud memories. Let me name a few for you my friend because you maybe have forgotton or was child back then.
1.It was during their time we beat the mighty South Africans for the first and only time in a test, on foreign ground. Yes, you heard me right!
2.It was in their time we won a test series against England since whenever. Yes you heard me right!
3.It was in their time we won the chapion’s trophy in England. Yes sir, you heard me right!
4.They were their when we gave the Aussies a scare in Australia. Infact had it not been for some untimely injuries we would have won the tree test series.
5. Gayle’s last test series was against Shri Lanka in Sri Lanka and gayle had a tripple century in the first test. He also had a century the last time he played in Newzeland, Australia, South Africa. So the facts bro before you say anything
I could not have said it better. Some people appear to have memoir poule.
I concur
In my view, West Indies need some more experienced players on the side right now. The young guys should be playing alongside the more experienced players. In that way, they can then develop into better cricketers in time. Also, I’m waiting to see whether any of the seven Windies players who played in the IPL 2012 will play in the ODI’s & T20.