The West Indies Twenty20 World Cup squad is currently in Australia and so far they have played two Twenty20 matches against Australia and one warm-up match against the United Emirates. Also, the second practice match is scheduled to be held in Melbourne next Wednesday.
They lost both the T20 matches against Australia but managed to win the T20 match against UAE. However, the poor batting performance of the West Indies team was displayed again and scored only 152 runs in the 20 overs. King with 64 runs as well as skipper Pooran strengthened the innings with 46 runs.
However, the West Indies bowlers did not allow the UAE players to cross the 135-run mark. Head coach Phil Simmons says West Indies will use the two official warm-up matches to finalize their plans for the crucial qualifying stages of the Twenty20 World Cup. According to head coach Phil Simmons.
“The two warm-up games are about getting things to work together, about getting the plans we have in place, about making sure players are getting sharper and sharper as they go along.”
“The mood in the camp has been very good. We played two games … and we lost the two games but at the same time, some of the things we’re trying to put in place are starting to come in place and the mood in the camp has been excellent.”
The series defeat was their third in a row after similar results against New Zealand and India in the Caribbean and they have now won just two of their last 10 T20 Internationals. West Indies head coach Simmons, who commented further, said that the batting department, which is always weak, is currently working on it.
“The batsmen understand what we need to add to get to where we want to be and they’ve been working hard.”
“We had a good net session with everyone and everyone is looking forward to playing in the practice games, getting in the middle, and doing what is necessary for the team. So far, the enthusiasm and excitement are there in all the players so that’s good to see.”
After the next warm-up match against the Netherlands, West Indies will face Scotland, Ireland, and Zimbabwe in Group B in a tricky qualifying series.