"You've Got To Respect Every Opposition": West Indies Coach On Zimbabwe's T20 World Cup Dream Run
Much to the surprise of the cricketing world, Zimbabwe topped Group B ahead of Sri Lanka while former champions Australia were eliminated.
West Indies head coach Daren Sammy on Sunday said Zimbabwe may have drawn extra motivation from being clubbed with higher-seeded sides Sri Lanka and Australia in Group B, a factor he feels could have inspired them to punch above their weight and finish on top. Much to the surprise of the cricketing world, Zimbabwe topped Group B ahead of Sri Lanka while former champions Australia were eliminated. The seedings for Super Eights has featured prominently in talks since the business end of the T20 World Cup started.
Sammy said he understands it from a logistical point of view.
"If you take the logistics that comes into it, trying to give fans who probably travel, (it is) an opportunity to plan ahead," Sammy told reporters ahead of West Indies' Super Eights clash against Zimbabwe.
"... The big thing for most people is (that) they would be saying ‘oh! West Indies came out of the group' (or) ‘oh! Zimbabwe came out of the group' — that means somebody they see (coming out from) there did not come out." "Zimbabwe did what they had to do. If we were not seeded or so, and I saw this person (an opponent) is going to play there, that gives me motivation.
"I'm pretty sure Zimbabwe, looking at that group there, gave them motivation and inspiration to come out and play the way they played. But I do understand from the logistics standpoint, trying to give the fans the surety." Sammy, however, did not read much into how teams were placed.
"You seldom get top teams in the same round. My team knows they have to play (in) a World Cup. We've got Zimbabwe tomorrow, (then) we've got South Africa and then India," he said.
"We've got (the two) finalists of the last World Cup. If you're going to win, you've got to play what's in front of you. Not take it for granted, not take anybody lightly. If you start to bring in other factors, it takes you off-track,” he said.
When asked how does the West Indies approach a contest against a team like Zimbabwe which wasn't expected to last so far in the tournament, Sammy asked, "Who said Zimbabwe is not supposed to be here?" "A lot of people say West Indies is not supposed to be here either. When you're in a World Cup, you've got to respect every opposition.
"That's what we've been doing; that's what I encourage my guys to do. Respect the opposition, but believe in yourself, believe in your processes and your execution. Tomorrow, we approach it the same way we would approach a game against India or Australia or whoever," Sammy said.
The two-time T20 World Cup winning captain said the format has the trait of bringing teams together.
"Like us, they (Zimbabwe) are very confident, they are playing some good cricket. T20 is a format that brings teams closer together. There's no clear-cut winner. These guys have played well. Zimbabwe, missing out on the last World Cup, they (are) led well. Sikandar (Raza) is very confident. He leads by example.
"They've got six fans in the stands that sounds like one million. There are a lot of things that (are) going for them. I could understand from that standpoint, where nobody gives you a chance (and) how you could use that as inspiration," Sammy added.
"This tournament, we had 20 teams. Especially in our group (C), everybody won a game. The Associate teams have really pushed the full members. It says that the game is growing, especially in the shorter format. One person could actually impact the game on winning or losing." With the West Indies having multiple match-winners in their unbeaten run so far, Sammy said it is due to diligence shown by every member of the side.
"It's the first time in a long time that we've had every single person that is available for West Indies playing,” he said.
“Just the way we've been building, the different players that we've tried heading into the World Cup, it's a conscious effort on each player to just pay a little bit more attention to the detail, the preparation, the planning.” He added, "Plus, the guys believe they could do something special, that's what I saw and that's why I said it from the first press conference (that) I feel we could do something special." PTI DDV APS APS
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Zimbabwe Cricket Team
West Indies Cricket Team
Darren Sammy