ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC—Head coach Kenroy Peters mentioned Windward Islands Volcanoes will attempt to tick all the appropriate containers when the West Indies Championship resumes on Wednesday after a two-week break.
The Volcanoes are presently main the Championship with 62.2 factors after resounding wins of their first three matches in opposition to Jamaica Scorpions, Barbados Pleasure, and Mixed Campuses & Schools Marooners.
They may face hosts Trinidad & Tobago Purple Drive at Queen’s Park in Port of Spain in one of many essential matches of the fourth spherical. That is one in every of their most important checks this season, and it may give a strong sign to the vacation spot of the Headley-Weekes Trophy, a logo of supremacy within the match.
The venue for the match has been a bogey for Volcanoes within the Skilled Cricket League period of the Championship, having endured heavy defeats within the two video games they’ve contested there, and the way nicely the guests come by way of this problem can be a real signal of their fortitude.
Peters, the previous Volcanoes and West Indies left-arm pacer, and group supervisor Liam Sebastien have been members of the unit slightly underneath ten years in the past when the guests scored their earlier win in opposition to Purple Drive on the Oval by a whopping 234 runs—and so too was long-standing batsman Sunil Ambris.
“Our targets proper now are easy – it’s to not change a lot, however to be constant and check out to not be complacent,” Peters informed CMC Sportswire on the eve of the match. “Going right into a break after profitable three video games, you may get carried away and assume it’s over, however groups get stronger because the season progresses.
“Groups will bulk up their sides; some groups have already introduced of their skilled gamers. If you end up on prime of the desk, all of the groups you must play can be coming to problem you, and we can be trying ahead to that.”
He added, “However one factor we have to be aware of will not be turning into complacent. We have to take the issues now we have been doing up to now all through the season and enhance them, maintain it easy, and take it recreation by recreation.
“We should not be too nervous concerning the final result. What we have to be involved about is the method and ensuring that we’re doing the nice issues constantly. We regularly discuss ticking the containers—we wish to proceed doing that.”
Peters praised his facet for his or her dedication within the first three matches of the season, which he mentioned stemmed from the frustration of ending runners-up final 12 months and a feeble efficiency within the West Indies Super50 Cup final November in Trinidad.
“I feel the gamers have executed very nicely within the first three rounds,” he mentioned. Their perspective and dedication to doing higher than final 12 months after we got here second made them wish to push themselves and problem themselves.
“However what actually led as much as this was not solely the mindset but in addition the preparation we had after the Super50. We didn’t play at our greatest within the Super50, and we felt we let ourselves down, so we determined to accentuate our preparations, and the outcomes you noticed within the first three rounds are testimony to that.”
He mentioned, “It’s the dedication of the blokes. After they prepare, it has a objective behind it. You possibly can inform the gamers wish to do nicely for themselves and the franchise—and so they all have a purpose to play for West Indies and to contribute to West Indies cricket.
“So, I’m happy that the gamers are profiting from the franchise system and seeking to not solely higher themselves but in addition see the franchise succeed and contribute to bettering West Indies cricket and getting it again on prime.”
Just one factor has gnawed away at Peters throughout his facet’s clear sweep of their first three matches, and that’s realizing how nicely they may carry out in an actual strain scenario. Having blown away their opponents by 9 wickets twice and eight wickets twice, it’s been a virtually simple journey.
“I might have beloved to see the matches go to the fourth day and the final session, and difficult the gamers in order that they might see the place they’re in that scenario and having to place in that final effort when you find yourself mentally, bodily, and elegantly drained, and so they may see what they’re fabricated from,” he mentioned.
Elsewhere, the second-placed Leeward Islands Hurricanes will hope to maintain up the strain on the Volcanoes once they face the Marooners at Frank Worrell Area on the St Augustine campus of the College of the West Indies in Trinidad.
A ding-dong battle is anticipated to resume the oldest rivalry within the sport at this stage within the Caribbean when fifth-placed five-time defending champions Guyana Harpy Eagles meet third-placed Barbados Pleasure on the Coolidge Cricket Floor in Antigua.
The hosts, Jamaica Scorpions, can be seeking to shake off their inconsistency in opposition to the Cricket West Indies Academy at Sabina Park in Kingston.
STANDINGS
(After the third spherical)
(1) Windward Islands Volcanoes 62.2 factors
(2) Leeward Islands Hurricanes 45.6
(3) Barbados Pleasure 43.8
(4) Jamaica Scorpions 29.6
(5) Trinidad & Tobago Purple Drive 27.6
(6) Guyana Harpy Eagles 26.4
(7) Cricket West Indies Academy 24
(8) Mixed Campuses & Schools Marooners 14.6
Associated
