WELLINGTON — Gamesmanship by the West Indies ahead of Saturday's Cricket World Cup quarterfinal against New Zealand proves the adage that many a true word is spoken in jest. The tone of the West Indies' trash talk has been that New Zealand, unbeaten and riding a growing wave of expectation, is under more pressure than its opponents. Darren Sammy said his West Indies has proved in the knockout rounds of world tournaments and historically has the edge over New Zealand when it counts most. “It's a big occasion but we're not going to be overwhelmed by it,” Sammy said. “We've played New Zealand in the quarterfinals of World Cups before. Yes, it was a T20 (20-overs format) World Cup but when it came down to crunch time, we won. “This time around it won't be any different. It will be a full house rooting for New Zealand but we know within our group once we do the basics, the things we know we can do well, we're unstoppable.” Several former West Indies greats — among them Brian Lara, Viv Richards and Curtley Ambrose — have echoed Sammy's view. Richards, in a column Friday, said New Zealand “are the in-form team of the tournament, have won all their games in the pool stage and are one of the favorites. But West Indies have nothing to fear.” “They have the batting personnel to do it on any given day and their bowling has improved dramatically over the course of last two or three matches,” Richards said. “Regardless of how New Zealand have played, I believe West Indies can turn the corner and deliver that one bad match for the Black Caps.” New Zealand has not taken the West Indies verbal bait, but the team knows a 6-0 record in pool play counts for nothing Saturday. The Black Caps have played consistently well across the tournament whereas the West Indies' form has swung wildly, from wins over Pakistan and Zimbabwe to losses to Ireland, India and South Africa. West Indies pacemen Jerome Taylor and Jason Holder have bowled exceptionally well in the first 10 overs, taking more wickets at a better economy rate than any new-ball pair at the tournament. “It's a huge thing for us,” Taylor said. New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum dismissed pre-match talk of favorites and underdogs. “Once the coin goes up and the contest between bat and ball starts, all of that talk, all of the pre-match favoritism goes out the window,” McCullum said. “Tomorrow is no different just because it's a quarterfinal. “We know that on paper we're a strong team but we need to make sure that we turn up and display the type of skills that we've been able to throughout this tournament. If we do that, I'm sure we will be hard to beat.” The co-host has arguably the most balanced side in the World Cup, all of whom have stepped up at one stage or another during the tournament. That has particularly pleased McCullum. McCullum has indicated that New Zealand will revert to their top lineup, with fast bowler Adam Milne returning from shoulder injury to join new ball duo Trent Boult and Tim Southee in place of Mitchell McClenaghan. Southee somehow managed to exploit a clear blue sky and little wind to produce a captivating spell of late-swing bowling to take career-best figures of 7-33 against England at Wellington Regional Stadium a month ago. Boult was imperious in their match against Australia with 5-27 the following week in Auckland, while left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori has complemented the opening pair with 13 wickets at 13.29, and an economy rate of 3.69. West Indies, by contrast, has struggled in the top-order batting with most of the runs from top-scorers Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels coming in one big partnership against Zimbabwe in Canberra. Gayle, who is struggling with a back injury, has scored 279 runs with 215 coming from that one innings, while Samuels' 133 not out has accounted for 66 percent of his total runs of 203. West Indies captain Jason Holder said the key to the game could be to take early wickets when McCullum comes out firing and then get stuck into the middle order. Gayle trains Chris Gayle continued to dominate the build-up to the quarterfinal when captain Jason Holder said a decision on his fitness would be delayed until Saturday. The opening batsman's lingering back injury flared up in the latter stages of the first round, forcing him to miss West Indies' final game against United Arab Emirates, and he had not appeared at training in Wellington all week. The 35-year-old finally took some throwdowns at the Basin Reserve Friday and batted in the nets after having undergone a scan and pain-killing injection earlier this week. “The scan didn't show anything major so we'll just see how he pulls up today and make a decision tomorrow morning,” Holder said. — Agencies
