Ottis Gibson is the one West Indian who has been on the receiving end of some Dutch (mischief) before
Firdose Moonda in Delhi26-Feb-2011Ottis Gibson is the one West Indian who has been on the receiving end of some Dutch (mischief) before. He was England’s bowling coach at the World Twenty20 when they lost the opening match at Lord’s by four wickets. It was the upset of the year and it hasn’t been easy to erase from memory.”I remember the feeling was like in our dressing room and jubilation in their dressing room,” Gibson said. “Those guys, when they come into an event like this, they bring in lots of energy and an expectation of upsetting a big team.”To the Dutch, West Indies would fit comfortably into that category – they are a Full Member, albeit one in decline – and they still hold the aura of being one of the traditionally great nations in the cricketing world. For the critics, West Indies present Netherlands with an even challenge, which is why the men from the Caribbean have to find a way of showing that they still belong in the elite league. “The results in the last two years don’t suggest that West Indies are a big team, but what we know and what believe in is that we are a still a big team and we have to prove that,” Gibson said.Their opening defeat against South Africa has by no means ruled them out of the competition with the format allowing teams more than one slip up and still make into the quarter-finals. It means that West Indies can’t allow any clouds of gloom to crowd out their sunshine and that they still have plenty to play for.”Our players have got a lot belief that they can come here and do well and prove to the world that we are still a more than capable nation.” Gibson said and added his team are taking inspiration from tournament past. “India weren’t expected to win the World Cup [in 1983] but they won. Pakistan had to win a game to qualify for the semi-finals, they won the game and went on to win the World Cup,” he added. “We’ve got history in this competition. We have to look forward, we have to positive.”Something that will aid that sort of thinking is the fact that they have played on this wicket before and take more information into the match which they did not have on Thursday. “The wicket didn’t exactly play according to how we thought. [Kemar] Roach plays here for the IPL team, [Dwayne] Bravo and [Kieron] Pollard have played a lot here and they said in the second innings it was going to go a lot slower and lower which it didn’t. It remained a pretty good wicket throughout the game.”What will make the task of staying upbeat more difficult is the absence of Dwayne Bravo, one of West Indies’ key players even though his pitch information was a little off target, who has been ruled out for four weeks with a knee injury after he slipped in his follow through against South Africa. “Bravo has been key part of our team for a long time,” Gibson said. “He is a sort of energiser in the team, with his fielding, bowling, batting and also with his presence in dressing room.”Bravo also formed an essential cog of the team’s overall game plan. “Our strategy was built around three allrounders – captain Darren Sammy, Bravo and Pollard,” Gibson explained. “With him [Bravo] missing it give us an opportunity to perhaps think whether we a need a batsman at number six and perhaps an extra bowler.”In one way, though, the need to play an extra bowler could help West Indies because they didn’t look like taking a wicket for long periods against South Africa, after they got a couple of early breakthroughs. Ravi Rampaul and Andre Russell may come into contention, as will left-arm spinner Nikita Miller.What they need most of all is a fresh perspective, a mentality that says they are going to compete, no matter who they are playing against and the will to prove what Gibson said with such confidence. “Cricket is still very much alive in the Caribbean,” he said. Now show us.