DURBAN—Captain Darren Sammy is hoping to rest several players for the third and final Twenty20 International here tomorrow with the series already wrapped up, but has impressed upon his unit the importance of making a clean sweep.
West Indies arrived here yesterday fresh from taking a winning 2-0 lead in the series, following an historic run chase which saw the Caribbean successfully overhaul a mammoth 231 for seven by South Africa, to win at Wanderers with four balls to spare.
Sammy said he would discuss with tour selectors and coach Stuart Williams the possibility of using a revamped team, especially considering the upcoming workload of a few players.
“I said to the guys after [Sunday’s] match, 3-0 in South Africa against South Africa sounds way better than 2-1,” Sammy said.
“Obviously Chris (Gayle) is our main T20 batsman and we have the one-dayers coming up and we know how crucial [but] how prone he is to injury. I think I had a conversation with him and Stuart and he wanted to play [on Sunday] so once we won the series, he could get some time to manage his body.”
Gayle was pivotal in the series win, hammering 77 off 31 balls in the opening game in Cape Town to steer West Indies to an uncomplicated four-wicket win. He returned at the Wanderers to blast 90 from 41 deliveries to set up another thrilling four-wicket verdict.
Sammy said he believed, however, there were strong players who could be called upon for the final game to ensure Windies sustained their winning momentum.
“We have guys like Carlos Brathwaite [who can come in]. To be fair, Jason (Holder) after the Test series looked a bit tired and we know he has the one-day captaincy to think about so Carlos Brathwaite could get his opportunity,” Sammy explained.
“And (Andre) Fletcher could also come in and keep after (Denesh) Ramdin had the Test series and have the one-dayers and the World Cup coming up.
“We will talk to the selectors and see if we can give the other guys a chance to play with the same mentality of going out and winning in Durban.” (CMC)