Windies must remain hungry, urges Sammy

Bridgetown (Barbados) - Captain Darren Sammy has cautioned against complacency as the West Indies prepare to face Bangladesh in a Test and one-day series they are expected to win easily.

Bangladesh prop up the nine-nation Test rankings where the West Indies lie seventh and are also ninth of 13 teams in the one-day table, with the Windies again seventh, reports CMC.

“We’ve just got to stay hungry. We can’t keep thinking because we won the T20 World Cup that we’ve turned the corner. We’ve still got to put in the hard work and all the stuff coach (Ottis) Gibson has been trying to implement since he came on board,” Sammy told reporters here.

“We’ve got to keep working hard. Bangladesh in Bangladesh is always a difficult place for us or for any team. We expect to beat them so we’ve got to keep the momentum and do the things we’ve doing for the last six months.”

Last year in the subcontinent, the West Indies beat Bangladesh 1-0 in a two-Test series and also took the three-match one-day series 2-1.

It made amends for the ill-fated 2009 home tour when the West Indies, depleted by a rancorous strike by senior players, lost both Tests and all three one-dayers.

Now with a fully staffed squad, Sammy believes once players assume the right frame of mind, a series victory will be assured.

“It’s the mindset,” he stressed. “If we go to Bangladesh and we out in hard work that we’ve been putting in for the last two years where we were competing against the higher ranked teams if we continue in the same vein as against New Zealand we should be ok.”

Since the abysmal tour of England earlier this year, West Indies have flourished, comprehensively beating New Zealand in the Caribbean before winning the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka last month.

Despite their new found international fame, Sammy brushed aside suggestions this could prove a distraction.

“I don’t think there will be added pressure [because of the T20 World Cup success],” he contended.

“Once you’re in a series, there is always pressure involved. Our duty is go out there and continue what we started against New Zealand. Last year in Bangladesh, we won the Test and the one-day series and we lost the only T20 there so we’re looking to better that on this trip.”