Colombo, Sri Lanka – Ramnaresh Sarwan is happy to be back in West Indies colours and is eagerly looking forward to the three One Day Internationals against Sri Lanka.
The 30-year-old said he is focused on helping the team in the upcoming series and also to play his part in the International Cricket Council’s Cricket World Cup.
“It feels really great to be back. We had a really good workout today and so far I am just happy to fit into the team again. We have a very good team vibe going and it is very important that we maintain that and build on that. It is also important that we get off to a good start in this series and try to get that early momentum,” Sarwan said.
The experienced right-hander was speaking after the Windies had a full training session at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Saturday. The team will have another session on Sunday afternoon as they prepare for the first match on Monday at the historic SSC, followed by the other matches on Thursday, February 3 and Sunday, February, 6.
Sarwan enters the series with an impressive record in ODIs. He has made 156 appearances and scored 5,098 runs at an average of 43.94 per innings, including four centuries. Looking ahead to the three-match rubber he added: “The pitch at the SSC is normally a good one for batting. I have done well here (Sri Lanka) before. I am just hoping to maintain the same level of success I have had before, make a major contribution to the team, and try to bat us into winning positions.
Sarwan added: “The greatest dream is to win the Cricket World Cup for all the people of the Caribbean and all those around the world who support us. We have to give Darren (Sammy) our full support. Obviously, he is still a bit new to the job as captain so it is important that he gets our full backing. We need to be consistent as a team and that would give us a really good chance of winning.”
The One Day Series was originally slated for December but was rescheduled due to bad weather. For the World Cup the Windies have been drawn in Group B alongside South Africa, Netherlands, India, Bangladesh, England and Ireland in the 14 team event.
Windies Squad: Darren Sammy (captain), Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle, Nikita Miller, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith.
TOUR SCHEDULE
West Indies in Sri Lanka
Jan 31 – 1st ODI at SSC, Colombo
Feb 3 – 2nd ODI at SSC, Colombo
Feb 6 – 3rd ODI at SSC, Colombo
West Indies World Cup Warm Up matches
Feb 12 – v Kenya at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Feb 16 – v Sri Lanka at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
West Indies World Cup Group B matches
Feb 24 – v South Africa (New Delhi)
Feb 28 – v Netherlands (New Delhi)
Mar 4 – v Bangladesh (Dhaka)
Mar 11 – v Ireland (Mohali)
Mar 17 – v England (Chennai)
Mar 20 – v India (Chennai)
Here’s my WI world cup team: (REVISED)
1.Christopher Gayle
2.Lendl Simmons
3.Darren Bravo
4.Shivernarine Chanderpaul
5.Dwayne Bravo
6.Keiron Pollard
7.Carlton Baugh
8.Jerome Taylor
9. Darren Sammy
10.Sulliemann Benn
11.Kemar Roach
_______________
12.Dwayne Smith
13.Marlon Samuels
14. Fidel Edwards
15.Pedro Collins
Unless thats the team going to world cup i’ll be supporting india and england!
Go WestIndies!
Mr. Luscious Woodcock, Marlon Samuels was not in the original 30-man squad……. I notice u only attack the 2 windward boys, are we still stuck in that ugly insular game?…….. go windies bring it home.
look my world cup team:
1.Christopher Gayle
2.Lendl Simmons
3.Darren Bravo
4.Shivernarine Chanderpaul
5.Dwayne Bravo
6.Dwayne Smith
7.Carlton Baugh
8.Jerome Taylor
9. Darren Sammy
10.Sulliemann Benn
11.Kemar Roach
_______________
12.Keiron Pollard
13.Shane Shillingford (but they ban him)
14. Fidel Edwards
15.Pedro Collins
Devon smith and Barath is not one day material and sarwan too fat.lol
This is a fair team at best. I am a Windies fan to d bine however, there are three areas where we are at adistinct disadvatage and are going to cost us matches and ultimately the World Cup Trophy. The captaincy, the balance of the team and our bowling attack are major worries for the team. Firstly, the captain does not merit selection, therefore this is a waste of a spot, in fact I do not see him having any positive match winning impact in the upcoming series and beyond, the young man is out of his depths. In the test series (against Sri Lanka) he scored 10 runs (ave. 3) and took 2 wickets (ave. 87) not to mention regulation dropped catches at crucial times. Dwayne Bravo plays a similar role and is a suprior talent in all three departments so to play both simultaneously creates an imbalance. Marlon Samuels should be definitely in the squad on form and experience (ahead of Devon Smith). If Gayle, Darren Bravo and Pollard are unsung during the Sri Lanka series and the World Cup then the last 8 is possible however, the inexperienced bowling attach is likely to undo all the good work of the batting. Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope for some outstanding performances and consistency from the team in general.
well i hope by now you’ve seen that barath just embarassed you by scoring a 113 runs of 129 balls with a strike rate of 87.59.. if you don’t see that as a one day player then i dont know who is..daren sammy is an asset to this one day squard you moron..he is by far the most consistent line and length bowler in the squard so get your facts before you run your mouth.
I USE to like how sarwan played.! USED TO!!!!!!
cool vibes…….locally wonder if Sat will get de blow again as they did for FIFA in SA…
Marpin run things to a certain point…..but their quality of signal especially in the rural areas cant justify and decent vibe to their customers….
Marpin still has work to do to convince me a customer!! please beef up the signal quality…
go Windies
Wish the Windies well !!!
Through determination and proper play, the Windies will give themselves a good chance to progress very far in the 2011 cricket World Cup.