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Bret Kamutenga
BOASTING of the services of cricket legend Brian Lara, who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, West Indies hope for a top-drawer performance against Zimbabwe in their tour that is set to end mid next month.
The visitors arrived in the country on Monday ahead of the much-anticipated series that will start with a four-day warm-up game against Zimbabwe A, scheduled for Saturday to 31 January at the Bulawayo Athletic Club (BAC).
West Indies will tour Zimbabwe for two Tests in February 2023, both to be played at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
The first Test is slated for February 4-8 and the second for February 12-16, both starting at 10am local time at Queens Sports Club
The team started fine tuning at Queens Sports Club on Wednesday with Lara helping on the batting side, a development that Windies captain Kraigg Brathwaite said they were happy about.
Lara topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds several cricketing records, including the record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket, with 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994, which is the only quintuple-hundred in first-class cricket history.
“It is amazing having Brian around and for the guys specially batsmen to ask questions and also pick his brain will help us a lot,” said Braithwaite.
He added: “It is my third time in Zimbabwe and I love it here. The conditions are similar to the Caribbean and we are hoping for the best. Pitches are a bit slow regarding the jetlag the team is trying to get our sleep-in order so that we adjust properly. The team is looking forward to the matches. We know Zimbabwe is a very good team at home so we are looking forward to the challenge. We are looking for a good performance in the matches as we want to start the new year on a winning roll.”
Shannon Gabriel has been recalled back to the side having missed a number of Test matches.
“Shannon has experience in the sport and having him as a bowler has got us excited and expecting great work from him,” said Braithwaite.
Windies have also been boosted by the arrival of all-rounder Jason Hoder and fast bowler Alzarri Joseph.
The skipper was upbeat about the food in Zimbabwe saying it is decent and the hotel serves them ideal menus that have seen them enjoy their stay so far.
Online Reporter
