Nottingham, England – Darren Sammy said West Indies have never lost a first-class match at Trent Bridge, let alone a Test, and his side would like to preserve this cherished record, when they face England in the second Test, starting on Friday here.
West Indies captain Darren Sammy. Photo courtesy of Windiescricket.com
Of the eight Tests Windies teams have played at the ground over the years, they have won four and drawn four; and of the 14 tour matches, they have won four and drawn 10.
“West Indies have not lost a first-class match at this ground, so it’s been a happy hunting ground for our teams over the years,” said Sammy on the eve of the Test.
“Maybe, our guys can take encouragement from this and look to put in a better display than we did at Lord’s.”
The visitors lost by five wickets in the first Test, which ended three days ago at the “spiritual home” of the game, giving England a 1-0 lead in this current three-match series.
Sammy said West Indies will be looking to put up a keen fight to keep this series alive.
“We have nothing to lose, since everybody has written us off,” he said. “But if we can go out there and have our moments of brilliance in the Test, we can gain confidence from this.
“West Indies have never lost a game at Trent Bridge, and the guys are quite optimistic that once we can execute all the things we have discussed in the team meetings about the different players, we have shown we can get 20 wickets.”
“We have shown we are capable of scoring 350 runs-plus, as we came close to doing in the second innings of the first Test, and this was after losing our top three cheaply, so if we can post a very good total, we can look to get a victory in this Test match.”
West Indies have not won a Test in England, since Jimmy Adams’ side crushed the hosts by an innings and 93 runs at Edgbaston in Birmingham, the venue for the final Test, starting on June 7.
Sammy said West Indies had a lot to gain if they can find the winning formula in this Test.
“At the start of the series, we said we were going to come with a never-say-die attitude, and when everybody wrote us off. . .we took [the first Test] past lunch on the final day and this is the attitude we have brought to England,” he said.
“We want to come out and play hard and push the No.1 team in the World, and hopefully, when we have their backs up against the wall, to maintain pressure and look to get a result.”
He added: “Being successful means that you need victories – and this is something that has eluded us, although we’ve played some good cricket. We need to find that first victory to get the dressing room pumped up.
“Hopefully, we could do it here, where we are playing the No.1 Test side in the World, and if we could win in England, which we have not done for a long time, it would be a major accomplishment for this team.”
Bright sunshine and warm temperatures again greeted the visitors when they trained at the match venue on Thursday – and the weather seemed set fair for the duration of the Test.