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West Indies crippled with injury for 3rd test |
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August 3, 2000
MANCHESTER, England (AP) - West Indies faces injury and poor form on the eve of the crucial third cricket test against England at Old Trafford. West Indies is forced to plan for a test it must win without the unflappable batting of Shivnarine Chanderpaul while star batsman Brian Lara is carrying a hamstring injury and is short of match practice. Also injured is allrounder Franklyn Rose (sore knee). The lack of depth in the bowling to support veterans Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose has hurt West Indies is clear with skipper Jimmy Adams considering some changes. Fast bowler Reon King's place is seriously under threat. Adams is thinking of playing using another fast bowler, Nixon McLean. If Rose were ruled, King would still play ahead of Corey Collymore. The West Indies is badly in need of a boost after the narrow loss in the second test and only one win in six matches in the recent three-nation, one-day series. The team is still coming to terms with being skittled out for 54 at Lord's. And West Indies' morale could suffer a further psychological dent given its performance at Old Trafford in the last two visits. In the corresponding test here in 1995, the West Indies was beaten by six wickets and last year lost to Australia in a World Cup match. "That is a matter of fact," Adams said. "It is a test match we must win. We must concentrate on what we have to do over the next few days and not worry about what has gone on before. "We are looking forward to it with a keen sense of anticipation. Hopefully we can rise to the challenge that's ahead of us." The West Indies will know after the Old Trafford match if Chanderpaul, with a torn tendon in his right arm, will be fit for the remainder of the test series. The left hander is resting his hand and hasn't played since the Lord's test. "He won't be 100 percent but he'll be a lot closer than he was in the first couple of one-day games that he played," said manager Ricky Skerritt of Lara. "I am pretty confident the way things have gone so far since the last test match," Adams said, who admits his side is tired. "We have worked on our faults and shortcomings and get back to our best," Adams said of the recent month-long break between tests. "At the end of the day we have a job to do. We've been here for two months so far. We have to continue as if every day was the most important up until the month of September. "We realize that we let ourselves down in the one-dayers and we have used the time in between and hope we can perform better in the remainder of the tour. The 21-year old batting sensation Ramnaresh Sarwan was poised to replace Chanderpaul. The West Indies must beat England to have any hope of winning its first away series since beating New Zealand 1-0 in December 1994 seven series ago. The West Indies has much to play for. Walsh and Ambrose will never play England again in tests after this series and a series win would be a fitting farewell to the two fast bowlers. However, the momentum may be with England following its success in the one-day series. England seems confident it can break the West Indies if it bats first and makes 350-plus. Opener Micheal Atherton and Alec Stewart, both past England captains, will step out at Old Trafford having joined an elite 100-Test band of Englishmen: Graham Gooch, David Gower, Colin Cowdrey, Ian Botham and Geoff Boycott. Atherton will open with rookie batsman Marcus Trescothick, who will make his test debut after a successful one-day series. Teams: England (from): Nasser Hussain (captain), Michael Atherton, Andrew Caddick, Dominic Cork, Robert Croft, Darren Gough, Graeme Hick, Matthew Hoggard, Alec Stewart, Marcus Trescothick, Graham Thorpe, Michael Vaughan and Craig White. West Indies (from): Sherwin Campbell, Adrian Griffith, Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Jimmy Adams (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ridley Jacobs, Franklyn Rose, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Nixon McLean, Chris Gayle and Reon King. Umpires: Doug Cowie (New Zealand) and Peter Willey (England). Television umpire: Ken Palmer. Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka). |