Chennai, Mar 16: England face a must-win situation against the West Indies here tomorrow to stay afloat in the World Cup, and the Caribbean captain Darren Sammy said coach Ottis Gibson's understanding of the English players will hold their side in good stead ahead of the clash.
Gibson has a fair bit of knowledge about the English cricketers having worked with the England national team as bowling coach for nearly two-and-a-half years before his current assignment.
And Sammy said ever since Gibson took over the charge as head coach of the West Indies team, there has been vast improvement in the side.
"Our head coach, Ottis Gibson has worked with the England team last year and his knowledge about them (English players) will be helpful to us," Sammy said during a pre-match conference ahead of their crucial Group B match against England tomorrow.
"Gibson is a quite a simple guy. He has lot of information to share having worked with a successful England team. Ever since he came in, there has been improvement and we hope he takes West Indies cricket to another step forward. We are going to exploit England's weaknesses and hope to win the game tomorrow," he said.
With only five points in their kitty from as many matches, England will have to win against the West Indies to stand any chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals and Sammy said the pressure will be high on their opponents tomorrow.
"It is a big game for them (England) and a must-win one. We have won three games in a row and we have some momentum behind us. We are just looking to improve on that and come out victorious," the West Indies skipper insisted.
"For us, we need to go there and execute our plans."
Sammy was elated that his star batsman Chris Gayle is fit to play tomorrow's match
"Our physio has said that Chris is fit and ready to go. It is good to have him back in the line-up. It is a boost for us as he is a key memebr of the team. His presence on the field will be a massive plus for us," he said.
Giving his opinion on the wicket for tomorrow's match, Sammy said, "The wicket looks like a good one. There is no grass on it. It is a typical Indian wicket."
He also said that he wants to continue his winning run with the toss.
"I have been successful with the toss. So, obviously, I want to win the toss tomorrow. Whatever we get to do, either batting first or bowling, we have to do that properly."
Asked whether this is a good time to play England as they have not done well in World Cup after the Ashes series, Sammy said, "It will be an exciting game tomorrow and good time to play England. Obviously, they have been on the road for long time, away from their families for over five months and it should be on their minds."
Talking about a number of left-handed batsmen in the West Indies side and whether Graeme Swann would pose a threat to them on what is expected to be a turning MA Chidambaram wicket, Sammy said they have good enough batsmen to counter the English off-spinner.
"Swann has been England's premier bowler and he is in the top-10 in the world. What he has done during the last two years is something that nobody can question. We do have utmost respect for him. But at the end of the day it is a cricket match and we have batsmen equally good enough to dominate him," he said.
On whether dew will play a role in the day-night affair, he said, "Dew or not, our bowlers have been performing and they have managed quite well."
Sammy also said that it would be wrong to underestimate England pacer James Anderson, who has so far witnessed a patchy form in the tournament.
"Jimmy (Anderson) has done well for England. He has had a good Ashes series. Obviously, his lack of form is a worry for (Andrew) Strauss and England. But we have utmost respect for Jimmy," he said.
Asked whether he would be tempted to field in leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo tomorrow as England struggled against South Africn leggie Imran Tahir in their earlier match, Sammy said, "Everyone in our team is eager to play. Of course, the way leg-spinner gets over England leaves us with a food for thought."
"We will discuss the option tonight and the team management of the team will come up with the best combination."
Sammy pointed out that a successful World Cup campaign would give a massive boost to the team and also the cricket-crazy Caribbean back home.
"A successful campaign in this World Cup would have a massive effect on us as cricketers and for people in the Caribbean. Everyone know that we came here as underdogs and whatever we have done so far as a team is to stay in the tournament.
"We taking one match at a time. We are going to focus on our match against England tomorrow. We all know as to what our team is capable of doing. We know our basics and I hope we will be able to achieve our goal," he said. PTI
