So far in the ICC Word Cup Qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe, the West Indies have had it relatively easy.
Firstly, they picked up a 39-run win over the USA on Sunday then a dominant 101-run win over Nepal on Thursday.
On Saturday, they are expected to face their first big test when they take on the hosts, Zimbabwe, who are also undefeated after two games.
Zimbabwe have had a pair of successful chases in their first two encounters. They needed only 44.1 overs and lost only two wickets on their way to overhauling 290 made by Nepal in their first game before needing even less time, 40.1 overs to be exact, to chase down 315 against the Netherlands in their second game.
West Indies batsman, Nicholas Pooran, says the Caribbean side is looking forward to the challenge of the in-form Zimbabweans.
“We expect the fans to come out and support Zimbabwe,” Pooran said.
“We’re playing international cricket and the home fans normally come out and support so it’s just going to be a normal game for us but again, the Zimbabwe fans are really passionate as well so we’re looking forward to the opportunity and the challenge against them,” Pooran added before emphasizing that every game they play in this tournament should be considered big.
“Every game is a big game so we don’t want to get into the habit of saying that USA or Nepal aren’t big games. They’re all big games but, in saying that, it’s nice to have batsmen that are in form going into a game like that. We all know that we need to be consistent and keep putting our hands up when the team needs us to,” he said.
The 27-year-old, who also got 115 against Nepal in the last game, also commented on the early start times of the matches and the condition of the Zimbabwean pitches.
“It makes the games very even,” said Pooran of the early start times.
“Obviously, the games are starting at 9:00 am here and there’s some moisture in the pitch. We know as a group that we need to fight that period out and, if we do that, it can be a really good cricketing pitch. I think the game becomes very equal and it’s all about who embraces the moment,” he added.
As it relates to the conditions, “it’s beautiful” was Pooran’s response.
“Coming from the Caribbean, I personally didn’t expect the wickets to be that good in Zimbabwe but I’ll take this any day,” he added.