Simmons eyeing change of narrative after World Cup fiasco
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka Head coach Phil Simmons says West Indies are anxious to turn the page on the recent Twenty20 World Cup debacle but are anticipating a difficult task in the two-Test series against Sri Lanka starting later this month.
The Caribbean side was soundly thrashed in the ongoing T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, losing four of their five matches to finish one from the bottom of their group, and missing out on a spot in the final four.
While the upcoming series presents a chance for West Indies to redeem themselves, Simmons said the Kraigg Brathwaite-led side would have to display their fighting spirit in order to come away with a positive result.After a huge disappointment like that, we want to get back to winning ways and especially winning away which we did at the start of the year, said Simmons who has come under fire in wake of the T20 World Cup disappointment. It would be nice to finish the year the way we started it.
He continued: Facing them at home has always been a difficult task and its no different now. Its a younger team. I think its going to be close to the team we had in the Caribbean. Quite a few of the young guys who played in that series are still there and its going to be a tough series. We know that. When you come to the subcontinent and play against these teams at home, its always going to be tough. We have to make sure that in this four-day game we get our fighting spirit especially when it comes to batting because thats going to be the most difficult aspect of this tour.
The Caribbean side was soundly thrashed in the ongoing T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, losing four of their five matches to finish one from the bottom of their group, and missing out on a spot in the final four.
While the upcoming series presents a chance for West Indies to redeem themselves, Simmons said the Kraigg Brathwaite-led side would have to display their fighting spirit in order to come away with a positive result.After a huge disappointment like that, we want to get back to winning ways and especially winning away which we did at the start of the year, said Simmons who has come under fire in wake of the T20 World Cup disappointment. It would be nice to finish the year the way we started it.
He continued: Facing them at home has always been a difficult task and its no different now. Its a younger team. I think its going to be close to the team we had in the Caribbean. Quite a few of the young guys who played in that series are still there and its going to be a tough series. We know that. When you come to the subcontinent and play against these teams at home, its always going to be tough. We have to make sure that in this four-day game we get our fighting spirit especially when it comes to batting because thats going to be the most difficult aspect of this tour.
Link Text