Coley satisfied with Windies’ preparation, adjustment in Australia

The West Indies’ Test team have embarked on a 3-day warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI ahead of the visitors’ 2-match Test Series against the Australia senior team. That match began on Tuesday night (10am Australian time on January 10th).
The Men in Maroon arrived Down Under on December 29th and began preparations on January 2nd. They wrapped same up on January 9th.
As the curtains came down on the final day of preparation, Red-Ball Head Coach Andre Coley expressed satisfaction with the work done ahead of the warm-up match.
“I am [satisfied]. It was important for us to have arrived early and give us an opportunity to get a feel for the conditions, get over the distance we would’ve travelled to get here. I’m happy with the progress that we would’ve made and how we’re transitioning towards the Test match,” Coley shared with Cricket West Indies (CWI) Media.
Commenting on the camaraderie in the squad thus far, Coley said, “Well, they’re not strangers; they would’ve played against each other in regional cricket. Recently we toured South Africa, some of the players are here. The camaraderie has been very good. Actually, (I’ve) been very impressed in terms of the feedback and some of the nurturing from senior players.”

Asked how he thinks the players would adjust to the conditions and pitches in Australia, Coley said it would come down to the individual. He reasoned, “It’s been a gradual adjustment, you know; it’s quite evident. At the end of the day, regardless of how the pitch plays and what response you get off the pitch when bowling, each player has to adapt to what is bowled at him, every single ball. So, sometimes the pitch has nothing to do with it, as opposed to pretty much being locked in to what is being bowled at you. And I think we’ve done that pretty well, playing on merit.
“Similarly, from a bowling standpoint, just adjusting to the lengths here in terms of what we want to achieve, our ability to hit specific groupings whenever we want to, I mean that’s been good. And just getting a feel for how the ball moves around in the atmosphere from a fielding standpoint, we’ve been able to spend some time on that as well,” he further stated.
Sharing what he hopes to get out of the practice match, Coley highlighted batting for long periods at a time.
“When you think about Test cricket, it’s really important that you’re able to bat (for) a day (in order) to be able to set up the game in a batting standpoint. And on the flip side of that, it’s pretty simple for me: if you can get the opposition out before the end of the day’s play. Those are easy markers to meet. How we go about it as a batting or bowling group is where it becomes more specific as it relates to the role and the different skill sets that each person brings to the team,” the Red-Ball coached explained. “We’re looking to keep it really, really simple.”
Turning his attention to how the team has adapted physically, he related, “By all indications, (they) seemed to have adapted quite well. For some it might have been easier (than) for others, but based on what we’re seeing, we’re seeing guys really committed… comfortable is not the word, but really adapting to the conditions on a daily basis.”
After the 3-day warm up, the West Indies will turn their attention to the two official matches, to be played from January 17th to 21st and 25th to 29th.
The 15-member squad reads: Captain Kraigg Brathwaite, Vice-Captain Alzarri Joseph, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kirk McKenzie, Alick Athanaze, Kavem Hodge, Justin Greaves, Joshua DaSilva, Akeem Jordan, Gudakesh Motie, Kemar Roach, Kevin Sinclair, Tevin Imlach, Shamar Joseph and Zachary McCaskie.