Sammy says his side had plans to counter Zimbabwe\u2019s quick
\n MUMBAI
\nWest Indies coach Daren Sammy said Sunday his side had plans to counter Zimbabwe\u2019s giant quick bowler Blessing Muzarabani, while admitting the 2.03m (6ft 8in) beanpole had the \u201cX-factor\u201d.
\nThe West Indies will open their Super Eights campaign at Mumbai\u2019s Wankhede stadium on Monday against tournament surprise packages Zimbabwe, who topped a group including Sri Lanka and Australia.
\nMuzarabani was one of the revelations of the group phase, taking nine wickets and 4-17 in the upset of Australia.
\n\u201cWe plan for every single player. Not only him. He\u2019s an X-factor,\u201d Sammy told reporters Sunday.
\n\u201cYou\u2019ve got to respect the opposition. We know the threat they bring against us but we also know what we have to do in order for him not to be threatening against us.\u201d
\nThe Super Eights were pre-seeded before the tournament, so the top eight seeds knew in advance where they would be playing in the second phase. Only one, Australia, did not make it and were replaced by Zimbabwe.
\nThe format though has come under fire after all four group winners \u2014 India, South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe \u2014 were pitted against each other in the second phase.
\nThe four group runners-up \u2014 Sri Lanka, England, Pakistan and New Zealand \u2014 are all in the other Super Eights group.
\nThe format has brought accusations of a lopsided second phase of the tournament with two of the group winners certain to miss the semi-finals.
\nSammy played a straight when quizzed about the fixture list by reporters, saying the format gave certainty to teams and fans.
\n\u201cIf you take the logistics that comes into it, trying to give the fans who travel an opportunity to plan ahead, that\u2019s the big thing for most people,\u201d said Sammy.
\n\u201cZimbabwe came out of the group. That means somebody did not come out. Zimbabwe did what they had to do.
\n\u201cI do understand from the logistic standpoint, trying to give the fans the surety, flights, whatever.\u201d
\nSammy indicated that all-rounder Romario Shepherd, who took a hat-trick against Scotland, could return after being out for the past week.
\n\u201cHe practised well yesterday,\u201d Sammy said of the right-arm seamer and power hitter, who had strapping on his right knee during training on Sunday but looked in no discomfort. \u201cBowled quite well, you know, hit the ball very, very cleanly. \u201cThe good thing for us is that everybody is available for selection.
\n\u201cSo I\u2019m glad to know and happy to know that all my soldiers are ready to go out to war.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sammy says his side had plans to counter Zimbabwe\u2019s quick MUMBAI West Indies coach Daren Sammy said Sunday his side had plans to counter Zimbabwe\u2019s giant quick bowler Blessing Muzarabani, while admitting the 2.03m (6ft 8in) beanpole had the \u201cX-factor\u201d. The West Indies will open their Super Eights campaign at Mumbai\u2019s Wankhede stadium on Monday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532880,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-532855","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n