West Indies wrapped up their final practice match on Thursday and are now less than a week away from the first Test against England on July 8. Kyle Mayers, who was one of the standout players during the match, indicated they are fully prepared and enthused about their chances.
Since June 9, West Indies have been in Manchester preparing for the three-Test series, which will be held in a bio-secure environment.
The unique nature of the tour meant the team had a long period of acclimatising and daily sessions of training, in addition to two intra-squad warm-up matches.
According to Mayers, who is one of 10 reserves since Shannon Gabriel officially joined the squad, the team is ready for the big battle that awaits.
“I think the group is really prepared and willing to go; I think every aspect of the game has been covered in preparation…and the guys are very confident going into the first Test,” he stated Thursday on the virtual briefing.
Responding to whether the inexperienced English top-order due to Joe Root’s absence is an area the pacemen will try to exploit in the first Test, he responded in the affirmative.
“Of course; Joe Root is the mainstay in England’s top order, when you hear about England, you hear about Joe Root so with him missing, the bowlers will be looking to go and take over.”
The Barbados Pride player whose presence on the reserves came as a result of a superb Four-Day season where he made 654 runs, the second most in the season, felt West Indies first-choice batsmen are in good spirits despite the failures in this match.
“Everyday batsmen can’t win, that’s the game of cricket; the first game the batsmen really played well…majority of the Test batsmen played very well in the first game, but unfortunately this game the Test bowlers got the upper hand, but that’s the way cricket goes.”
“In the preparation, you can see the guys are confident, hitting the ball well and getting into good positions, and they will do well in the Tests.”
West Indies travel to Southampton on Friday where they will play the first Test at the Ageas Bowl on Tuesday.
