SYDNEY, Australia - THE West Indies have vowed to come out fighting when they take on Australia in the third One-Day International on Friday at the Sydney Cricket Ground. First ball is 2.25 pm (Thursday 11:25 pm Eastern Caribbean Time/10:25 pm Jamaica Time).
After defeats at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Adelaide Oval, the Windies know they have to put in a winning performance in the third match to stay in the series. Coach David Williams said his team will not back away, but will stand up to the challenge.
“We have been losing wickets early and that is one thing we have to address. We can’t afford to lose so many wickets so early. We need a good performance and I’m backing the guys to come good in Sydney. We need a win to stay in the series and I still believe we have it in us to win,” Williams said.
“This game is crucial for us … a lot depends on it. The series is not over … we still have three matches left and every match is vitally important. We know we need to win because we cannot afford to go 0-3 down. If we can pull one back it would do a lot for our confidence and for the series in general. The Aussies are a good team and have been playing good cricket, but we have to show that we can play good cricket as well.”
The coach added: “We are still a very good team. We got a lot of praise back home when we played well in the Test series late last year. We are fully aware that the people in the Caribbean want us to step up and give a better showing on the ‘park’. I have spoken to the players and they know what we have to do.”
The Windies are due to have a full training session on Thursday morning at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
