Bangla win has given tense Windies hope

After losing three of the seven Super Eights games, getting to the last four is as tough as being on a permanent uphill climb on the Grenada countryside.

With the real King 8212; Lara 8212; packing up early, the other King 8212; coach Bennett 8212; walks over to explain things. Most of his answers are monosyllabic.

Ask him if the boys are under pressure? 8220;No,8221; is the answer. While other queries 8212; will Dwayne Bravo open the innings again? Will Lara play up the order? Will there be any change? 8212; sees the timely intervention of the media manager Imran Khan standing beside him. The common answer to all the three questions is a simple: 8220;9 o8217;clock on Tuesday8221;.

From the sights and sounds at the camp it is easy to comprehend the pressure area on the West Indies team. Watching opener Chris Gayle extending his net session by practicing his cut shot and Lara in a long discussion with the coach when Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan were batting; it is clear that the 8216;top four8217; have their hands full.

It8217;s a fact the coach confesses when giving the reasons of his team8217;s slide as he says how the 8220;top four8221; haven8217;t clicked in Super Eights. That8217;s something even the rank junior in the side, wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin, too doesn8217;t hesitate to point his finger at. 8220;The top four haven8217;t given us the start we wanted and they have let us down in the last three games,8221; he says.

That explains the rather sombre and silent mood at the camp. The usual banter that one saw in Jamaica when the West Indies flew off the blocks is missing. It is only when the nets are over and the players are heading for the team bus that a few voices and sporadic muted laughs are heard. When the elders in the family aren8217;t quite in the mood, it is advisable for the juniors to curb themselves.

But King tries his best to convey that the house is in order. He says how the short break and the time spent by the players with their 8220;near and dear ones has helped them a lot8221;. Suddenly, it8217;s no more single-word answers as King gives a detailed explanation about the 8216;silent8217; session and the positive mental make-up of his team.

8220;They are pretty quiet. Internally we have characters but the mood around the camp is excellent. The players are optimistic about our chances. At the nets they have been energetic. The three back-to-back matches took some toll physically but I am quite happy with the unity in the group. They are certainly getting on well, they are trying hard,8221; he asserts.

Ramdin compliments his coach8217;s positive outlook but giving a hint of the game plan they have in mind in keeping down the South Africans. 8220;As we saw against Bangladesh, we can put pressure on them by posting a good score. In case we get batsmen like Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis out early, they seem to falter,8221; he says.

Ramdin goes on to add how his team8217;s slow bowlers can play a big role since the South Africans are susceptible to balls that stop and come.

As King walks away to pack his stuff and leave he mentions a small request. 8220;Write some good things,8221; he says. 8220;9 o8217;clock on Tuesday,8221; one almost replied suggesting how the show on field would change their fortune, the mood in the team and, subsequently, the things written about the West Indies team.