Thaindian News

Leicester (England), June 2 (IANS/CMC) Head coach Ottis Gibson says the West Indies will be looking for a confidence booster when they face English county Leicestershire in a two-day tour match starting at Grace Road here.

Crushing defeats to England at Lord’s and Trent Bridge have left the Caribbean side in disarray, and Gibson said the fixture beginning Saturday would provide the opportunity for his players to regain their balance.

“I think self-confidence is the element that’s lacking at the moment,” said Gibson.

“It’s not that we cannot (play well) because we have seen passages of play, where we have done it, but we have not been doing it consistently.

“This is the key - trying to find that consistency of play that will make us more of a threat and a challenge, putting us closer to winning Test matches.”

The West Indies lost the four-day tour match against the English Lions - England’s A side - by 10 wickets before going down by five wickets in the first Test.

They were then trounced by nine wickets inside four days in the second Test in Nottingham last week to fall behind 0-2 in the three-Test series and concede the Wisden Trophy again.

With the third Test starting in less than a week, Gibson said it was important his players maximized their time in the middle.

“It’s about them finding that feel-good factor heading in to the next Test,” he said.

“We have been competitive in the two Tests and there have been passages of play where we have been excellent.

“But our batting has left us a little short. Hopefully they can spend some time in the middle and work to build their confidence.”

Several players, who have been watching from the sidelines, are expected to get their first taste of action of the tour and will be looking to impress Gibson.

The left-handed Guyanese duo of Narsingh Deonarine and Assad Fudadin along with fast bowlers Tino Best will all be on show with the hope of squeezing their way into the final XI for the third and final Test at Edgbaston.

Fidel Edwards played in the opening Test but missed the second last week, and is now tipped to return for the final encounter especially with pacer Kemar Roach ruled out of the tour with injury.

Squad:
Darren Sammy (captain), Kirk Edwards, Adrian Barath, Kieran Powell, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Shiv Chanderpaul, Denesh Ramdin, Narsingh Deonarine, Assad Fudadin, Tino Best, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine, Shane Shillingford, Fidel Edwards.

–IANS/CMC
bs/sr/dg