da betcris： Both Dwayne Bravo, West Indies’ stand-in captain against Ireland, andtheir matchwinner Darren Sammy believe the local fans can give theteam a vital edge during the World Twenty20
Andrew McGlashan at Providence Stadium01-May-2010
The local fans were in full voice as West Indies won by 70 runs•AFP
Both Dwayne Bravo, West Indies’ stand-in captain against Ireland, andtheir matchwinner Darren Sammy believe the local fans can give theteam a vital edge during the World Twenty20. An almost full house atProvidence watched the hosts recover from an uncertain position withthe bat to post a comfortable 70-run victory.The crowd swelled as the opening day of the tournament progressed andby the time West Indies began their innings the stands were packed andnoisy. When the middle order fell away they feared a repeat of thecollapse that cost them the warm-up match against New Zealand, butSammy stepped forward with a 17-ball 30 before capping a fineall-round display with four catches and figures of 3 for 8.”The home advantage will play an important part and once our fans getbehind us it really gets us going,” Bravo said. “They were a bitdisappointed during our warm-up game, but tonight showed we are a muchbetter team than we showed then. I know for the next game againstEngland there will be a bigger crowd still and it’s always important.We can use that to our advantage.”Bravo was handed the captaincy at the last minute when Chris Gaylewithdrew with a muscle strain. For a while it looked to havedestabilised the team, but the home side were very impressive with theball and in the field as they overwhelmed their Associate opposition.”Obviously losing Chris at the beginning was a bit of a setback but Ithink we regrouped well as a team,” Bravo said. “We knew how importantthis game was for us to get off to a winning start. It was great tosee how we played and I’m sure a lot of people will be happy.”We got off to a good start, faltered in the middle and finishedstrongly at the end and that’s the most important thing. Getting over130 with their batting line-up and our bowling attack I would back myteam any day and I knew we were good enough to go and defend thattotal.”There was a far more downbeat assessment from William Porterfield, theIreland captain, who was left knowing this was a chance to notchanother major scalp. Porterfield was caught at second slip off thesecond ball of the innings as Ireland stumbled to 13 for 3 before ashort rain break and there was no way back for them.”It’s not just the fact we lost, but the way we lost especially withthe bat,” he said. “It’s pretty disappointing being bowled out for 68,it doesn’t matter who you are playing against or what conditions werelike. You don’t have any excuses.”The way we bowled and fielded we were right in it after 20 overs so it’sa massive missed opportunity. We were really struggling after thefirst 10 balls losing three wickets and it set us right on the backfoot.”However, he was already looking ahead to Ireland’s next match againstEngland on Tuesday knowing there is still a chance that his team canprogress. “If West Indies pull off a result [against England] then itcomes down to a shoot out between ourselves and England to get intothe Super Eights so there’s still a massive amount to play for.”