West Indies head coach Daren Sammy has declared a "moral victory" for his side in the aftermath of the 2-1 T20I series defeat to Sri Lanka, and questioned the wisdom of the home side pivoting to turning tracks for the final two games, both must-wins for Sri Lanka.
In a fairly scathing assessment, Sammy argued that while the next T20 World Cup - in 2026 - was going to be co-hosted by Sri Lanka, such turning tracks would not be the norm with the ICC having primary input over the curation of the wickets.
"For us, to see the last two games, and the nature of the wicket from what it was at the start, I thought we actually won the contest," Sammy said following the third T20I which Sri Lanka won by nine wickets. "Because we were the away team and in conditions set before us, we challenged them with a squad that was not our full squad, and they had to react to that.
While Sri Lanka may no doubt contest Sammy's views, it wasn't long ago that many within Sri Lanka's camp were themselves clamouring for more batter-friendly pitches. The calls had followed Sri Lanka's dismal display in the 2023 World Cup in India, where their batters struggled to match the attacking approach of the top sides. This plan seemed to have taken root, to a fair amount of success, in the early part of the year where high scores were seen more frequently - particularly during the series against Afghanistan, where Sri Lanka narrowly failed to chase down a target of 210.
"So I told the guys, 'yes, when the World Cup comes we won't get these conditions - the ICC will make sure the pitches are good'. So it was a moral victory for us from the first game to the second game."
Read more at ESPNcricinfo
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