The West Indies head coach Phil Simmons is not satisfied with the preparation time his team has got going into the series against hosts Bangladesh.
The Windies arrived in Dhaka on January 10 and were in a three-day room isolation before they could attend their first practice session at the Academy ground in Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
The visitors have had five days of training, including an inter-squad game scheduled for Monday at BKSP Ground 3 to get familiar to the local conditions before the start of the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh in Mirpur Wednesday.
"It (preparation time) is never enough for me. I think that I would have liked the sort of time we had in New Zealand but this is what we have, and we try to fit in as much as we can in that period,” said former Windies cricketer Simmons to the media Sunday.
The ODI series is crucial for both Bangladesh and the Caribbean side as the matches form part of the ICC ODI Championship, leading upto the qualification of the 2023 World Cup.
The league points on offer is critical for the West Indies who'll want to take the less scenic route and not be part of yet another grueling World Cup qualifiers.
Cricket West Indies confirmed on their website Wednesday that one of their players, Hayden Walsh Jr has tested positive for Covid-19 in Dhaka and will miss undergo a period of self-isolation.
Posted by Sports Tribune on Friday, 15 January 2021
The Windies had to take the long route to the multi-nation event in the 2019 edition as they became the first side to qualify for the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales, after they beat Scotland by five runs by the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method in the Super Sixes.
“It (ODI Super League) is mighty important because you have to catch up in the series. We don't want to get into the [World Cup] playoffs anymore. We need to start well,” said Simmons.
The 18-member squad put up by Bangladesh for the series has a fine balance when it comes to options in both pace and spin bowling department.
The squad features six pacers and also four main spinners hinting that the strategy can go either way.
Simmons while sharing his thoughts on the Bangladesh squad said a host of pacers in the home team would mean he can expect good pitches to play on.
“They (Bangladesh) still have their four main spinners. Whether they use two or three fast bowlers, is something they might try to change. It could mean that we get much better pitches to play on, from a point of view of better batting wickets. You never know. It could be a good thing, but the four spinners will still be there,” said Simmons.
“I am hoping that whether they play four or five spinners, it plays into our hands, and it plays a role in how we think about it. We seem to be underdogs, so I hope it lifts us rather than who they are playing,” he added.