Two massive victories in qualifying for the
ICC Champions Trophy has boosted the confidence of West Indies
cricket captain Brian Lara ahead of the main round of the biennial
limited-overs tournament.
A victory Saturday against fellow qualifier Sri Lanka will put
the West Indies in Group B of the main round, which includes
Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand. A loss will see the
defending champion take on world champion Australia, England and
India in Group A.
``It's a very, very important game, we would love to continue the
momentum going and so is Sri Lanka,'' Lara said of Saturday's match.
``No team wants to pick themselves up from a loss going into the
more important stage of the tournament,'' he added.
The West Indies _ winner of the Champions Trophy in England two
years ago _ has lost just one wicket in its two qualifying matches
with opening batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle,
starring with Lara in both games. It defeated Zimbabwe by nine
wickets and registered a thumping 10-wicket win over Bangladesh.
``Of course we lost one wicket in two games which again is very
good,'' Lara said. ``The guys didn't have opportunities (with the
bat) but I think the confidence of winning will definitely flow in
the team and I expect a very good and positive result on Saturday.''
The West Indies captain had no sympathy with the two bottom sides
in the tournament: Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
``We just need to impose ourselves on the opposition and if the
teams are weak, then we should go and win,'' Lara said.
``There is a difference of class and we showed that, and I am
proud of the guys. I don't think we need to be tested,'' he added.
Despite dominating the qualifiers, Lara was wary of Sri Lanka,
which has defeated Bangladesh by 37 runs and humiliated Zimbabwe by
144 runs.
``I think both teams (Sri Lanka and the West Indies) are going to
be very competitive (but) West Indies is going to put out their best
11 and we are going to go strongly for a win,'' Lara said.
After dismissing Zimbabwe for a paltry 85, the West Indies'
bowlers fought back impressively in the game against Bangladesh to
restrict it to 161.
``The guys are bowling well. (Dwayne) Bravo, who didn't do too
well in Malaysia, is coming out good and we all know how good a
bowler he is during the series against India in the West Indies,''
Lara said.
Viral infections to West Indies players is the only worry so far
for Lara as Dwayne Smith, Runako Morton, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Fidel
Edwards all were hit by illness in India.
``It's hard to quarantine the guys especially if you travel to
India . . . I hope it didn't stretch too much,'' Lara said.
