KINGSTON – West Indies and Sri Lanka square off at Sabina Park today as the curtain rises on the Celkon Mobile Cup tri-nation cricket series which also involves India.
And one of the most dangerous players in the shorter form of the game, Chris Gayle, has put bowlers on alert as he prepares to set foot on a ground where he blasted a century the last time he played there.
It was in an ODI in Jamaica that Gayle smashed 125 from 107 balls, enabling the West Indies to claim victory over New Zealand.
“It is overdue,” declared Gayle. “It’s been a while, and last year I got a hundred here and, hopefully, this time I can get another one here.”
West Indies, the world Twenty20 champions, are due to play India on Sunday following today’s opening fixture.
The Caribbean cricketers have been involved in training sessions at Sabina Park since their arrival earlier in the week.
“The guys are getting a feel again, coming out of the cold, after a few days home and getting back to acclimatize to our home conditions and looking forward to a good start here,” Gayle said.
Gayle, 33, who has the impressive record of 20 ODI centuries with a top score of 175, scoring over 8 000 runs at an average of 38, said exploiting home advantage was crucial to their success.
“We should use the home advantage to the best of our (ability) and capitalize on that,” he said.
“They won’t be in their comfort zone, so we have to put the pressure on them as much as possible and let them know that we are home and stamp our authority.”
The Sri Lankan outfit is made up of a new generation of players including captain Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera and Shamida Eranga.
West Indies are a strong side in limited overs based on the presence of several power-packed players.
However, most of these players have earned their reputations playing in faraway lands for an assortment of teams.
“The good thing about it, during the Champions Trophy, we get to play both teams,” said Gayle.
“We played Sri Lanka in a warm-up which we actually won and India beat us in the second game, so we know their strengths and weaknesses.”
Gayle said the team was ready to bounce back from their unfortunate exit from the Champions Trophy.
“We were bubbling in England, but we were disappointed with how we got bounced out of the tournament,” he said. “This is a new tournament now and everybody is starting back from scratch.” (CMC)
