Chanderpaul speaks with confidence

West Indies captain 
Shivnarine Chanderpaul 
(Photo by Photo Images)

by Gary Smith assisted by Steve Tort in Jamaica
for Caribbean Net News

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

KINGSTON, Jamaica:  Despite back-to-back defeats in their five one day international series against South Africa on Saturday and Sunday in Jamaica, West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul is optimistic that his team can rebound and win the series. 

"The same way South Africa came out and won two games, we can come out and win three games," Chanderpaul told reporters after the game on Sunday. 

The West Indies went down by eight wickets in the first game at Sabina Park on Saturday before suffering the same loss at the same venue the following day. Although optimistic, Chanderpaul believes that the batsmen never capitalised on a good batting pitch. 

"We batted very poorly.... it was a decent wicket, maybe a bit slow and we needed to get our heads down," Chanderpaul added.

"We need to think more on our cricket. Our batters need to stand up; they need to lay the foundation to give us a score to fight with."
In a rain-affected match on Sunday, South Africa cruised to their revised victory target of 124 from 33 overs with opener Boeta Dippenaar slamming an undefeated 60 from 78 balls which included four boundaries.

Meanwhile South African skipper Graeme Smith was extremely pleased with the performance from his teammates and thought the bowlers played a big part in both victories. 

"It was clinical. We bowled well and got it in the right areas and were very disciplined, Smith said. We kept them under pressure and we didn't let them get away."

Smith is also hoping to complete a 5-0 series victory, but the up-coming game in Barbados on Wednesday is the main focus.
"We are looking to win all five, and the one in Barbados is really important for a series win."

The Windies team needs to put it together before the next match in order to claim any prize from the series. 

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