“He is more pumped up than we are”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Despite having an injection to ease his back woes, West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy has made it clear that opener Chris Gayle will not miss the quarter-final against New Zealand.

Gayle did not feature in the West Indies’ match against the United Arab Emirates in Napier and recently underwent a scan on his back as well.

Even though the team management are assessing Gayle on a day-by-day basis, Sammy remains confident that the flamboyant Jamaican will fight through the pain.

“Chris is not missing this quarter-final for anybody,” Sammy said. “He is more pumped up than we are. He’s been writing down the path for us and the different scenarios. We’ve had teams who had the better of us and he’s said we’ve got a chance of meeting them in the semis when it matters, when it hurts the most.

“Chris is pumped up just like everyone in the dressing room. It’s unfortunate that this chronic back injury keeps hindering his progress. He won’t miss that quarter-final.”

However, Sammy pointed out that Gayle will need to tread softly when facing New Zealand’s new-ball pair of Trent Boult and Tim Southee early on in the match.

“Chris is an experienced player but once he’s at the crease anything is possible,” he said. “That doesn’t mean if they bowl half volleys then we won’t hit them into the stands. We just have to be more selective and execute properly.

“You’ve got to give credit, they have been the best new-ball pair in the World Cup and they’ve done it consistently. If you don’t allow them to take wickets then a different game plan has to come to the party so you get the Andersons and the other guys and let them come back into their third spells and then you cash in. The guys who don’t lose wickets in the first 10 overs, when the ball is new, tend to go on and score 300-plus.”