Windies look to break S Africa’s back

Sydney, February 25

Jason Holder is hoping to lead a very different West Indies side into Friday’s World Cup clash against South Africa to that which was crushed 4-1 in a ODI series last month.

The Caribbean islanders crumbled to a defeat by whopping 131 runs at Centurion in a humiliating end to the five-match series, which was 23-year-old Holder’s first as captain.

After impressive World Cup wins over Pakistan and Zimbabwe eased the pain of the shock upset at the hands of Ireland, however, West Indies will approach Friday’s match with something bordering on confidence. “It’s a different ballgame,” Holder told a news conference at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday. “We’re into the World Cup. Now that South Africa (tour)’s gone, we have two wins, so we have some momentum going into this game. So I think both teams are basically on a level playground.”

The victory over Zimbabwe in Canberra on Tuesday was driven by a record-breaking innings of 215 from opener Chris Gayle and his partnership of 372 with Marlon Samuels, who pitched in with 133 not out.

Gayle said after the match that a persistent back problem had contributed to his poor run of recent form and Holder, while not overly concerned about the chance of him missing out on the match, said the injury was being monitored. — Reuters

AB under threat
The threat of a one-match ban for slow over rates is heaping extra pressure on AB de Villiers (in pic) ahead of Friday’s clash against West Indies, the South Africa skipper admitted.One more minor infraction by his team in any of their remaining matches will see the Proteas forced to play without their leader and top batsman for one game. “I think all the captains are under pressure in this tournament,”de Villiers said. — Reuters