Sammy expects Windies win in England one-dayers

Although rain washed out three of the five days in the third Test here at Edgbaston the West Indies39 total of 426 featured an unbeaten century from wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin a stylish 76 by Marlon Samuels and Tino Best39s 95 the highest score by a Test match No 11 The threematch series may have already been lost after defeats at Lord39s and Trent Bridge but with Best topping the 90mph mark against opponents he could meet again when a trio of onedayers begins at Southampton on Saturday it was a timely reminder to England of the perils of taking the West Indies lightly West Indies39 recent results suggest they are far more of a force in oneday cricket and with Chris Gayle back on board after more than a year out following a dispute with Caribbean cricket chiefs they have one of the world39s leading limited overs batsmen in their lineup Kieron Pollard Andre Russell and Dwayne and Darren Bravo could also pose problems to an England side captained by Alastair Cook in onedayers now his Test skipper and fellow opener Andrew Strauss has quit the whiteball game West Indies pushed Australia all the way in a fivematch oneday series in March that ended all square at 22 after the third ODI in St Vincent was tied quotEverybody39s really excited about this oneday series and everybody believes we should beat Englandquot said allrounder Sammy quotWe are quite confident as a oneday teamquot Windies skipper Darren Sammy Photo AFP Sammy said West Indies coach Ottis Gibson formerly England39s bowling coach had identified oneday cricket as an area where the side who39ve now won just two of their last 33 Tests could make big strides quotWhen Ottis came on board we set goals and as a oneday team looking to win the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that39s possiblequot said Sammy who added success at this year39s World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September and October was also a realistic target quotIn Test cricket where you need a lot of concentration it might take more time for us to get back and win games consistently because we39ve been losing at that level for a long timequot said Sammy whose maiden Test century came during a ninewicket second Test defeat at Trent Bridge quotWe are more confident as a team playing oneday and T20 cricketquot But against England the tourists showed enough glimpses of talent to suggest that if they get their strongest side on the field they could yet make headway in Tests even if there is no immediate prospect of a return to the heights scaled by the celebrated West Indies teams of the 1970s and 1980s quotWe competed but we didn39t compete for long enough over an extended period of time and hence we lost 20quot said mediumpacer Sammy quotLooking at the three Test matches we scored over 320 in an innings in each Test with our top order not contributing To do that was a plus for usquot Samuels the West Indies39 man of the series after making 386 runs at an average of 9650 proved a thorn in England39s side throughout while Ramdin and Best stunned the hosts with a lastwicket stand of 143 at Edgbaston quotWe said we would come here with a neversaydie attitude and that lastwicket partnership was just a perfect examplequot said Samuels quotIt was great to watch and on that same flat wicket we got five wicketsquot