da aposte e ganhe： Ten days ago, after his team’s four-wicket defeat by Zimbabwe, Carl Hoopershrugged his shoulders and accused his team of putting their tails betweentheir legs and running for cover
Charlie Austin18-Dec-2001Ten days ago, after his team’s four-wicket defeat by Zimbabwe, Carl Hoopershrugged his shoulders and accused his team of putting their tails betweentheir legs and running for cover. He hoped that they would qualify, but heacknowledged that he was pushing his natural optimism to the limit.Three matches later, West Indies scrapped into the final with hosts SriLanka and, although clear underdogs, know that they are one game away fromsaving face on an otherwise disastrous tour. It would hardly paper over thecracks, but it would make the homeward bound trip a whole lot heartier.”It’s been a very hard tour for us and we have not got anything to show forit,” said Hooper. “The Test series is what we came for and that was verydisappointing. However, if we can win the one-day series, at least thatwould give us something positive to go home with.”He did not deny the dominance of the Sri Lankans during the past few weeks,but added: “They will be very confident after their win on Saturday andhaving beaten us so handsomely in the Test series, but I have a strongbelief that we can cause an upset. We are yet to play our best cricket onthe tour.”Although West Indies will be without the prolific Brian Lara, they have beenboosted by the return to form of openers Daren Ganga and Chris Gayle. WithHooper and Ramnaresh Sarwan also in good touch and the dangerous RicardoPowell lurking in the middle order, they certainly have some firepowershould they click in unison.In the bowling department too, things are starting to gel, with new ballbowlers Pedro Collins and Corey Colleymore performing consistently, rookiefast bowler Jermaine Lawson being impressive and new-boy medium pacer DarrylBrown steady.West Indies will, however, have to decide just how much spin they need on anotoriously slow bowler friendly surface. With off-breaks from Hooper, Gayleand Marlon Samuels, plus the part-time left-arm orthodox of Ryan Hinds, NeilMcGarrell, the only specialist spinner in the squad, appears an unlikelystarter.Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya and coach Dav Whatmore bothacknowledged their status as favourites and the real threat posed by a WestIndies side hungry for redemption.”After winning in Kandy and getting to the finals, the confidence is high,”said Jayasuriya. “But they are still a threat with some players in goodform, including Gayle, Ganga and Hooper. We can’t take it lightly and Iexpect it to be a tough game tomorrow.”Whatmore added: “When you start a game, the worst possible scenario possibleis to think you are playing a weak side. You can’t take any team lightly,particularly in the final.”He was worried the loss of Lara could be a catalyst for the West Indies:”Lara will be missed, there is no doubt about that, but we still have tobeen on guard, because often in a big match the other players can respondwell to the loss of a key player.”Sri Lanka’s batting poses few dilemmas, but the make-up of the bowlingattack is less easy and they are yet to decide on whether to play fastbowling all-rounder Suresh Perera at number seven or leg-spinner UpulChandana.Perera is favourite, mainly because of his batting rather than his bowling,which has been wayward. Chandana has not bowled well either, too frequentlydropping short, but with plenty of part-time spinning options amongst thebatsmen, Perera would add more to the team as a whole, especially with hisextra capability with the bat.Charitha Buddika Fernando deserves a place having out-bowled Nuwan Zoysa onSaturday, but Jayasuriya wants experience and said Zoysa would playalongside Chaminda Vaas.Sri Lanka (likely):Sanath Jayasuriya (capt), Marvan Atapattu, Avishka Gunawardene, MahelaJayawardene, Russel Arnold, Kumar Sangakkara, Suresh Perera, MuttiahMuralitharan, Nuwan Zoysa, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah MuralitharanWest Indies (likely):Carl Hooper (capt), Daren Ganga, Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan, MarlonSamuels, Ridley Jacobs, Corey Colleymore, Pedro Collins, Ricardo Powell,Daren Brown, Ryan Hinds