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| April 16, 2003 | Wednesday | Safar 13, 1424 |
Injured Waugh expected to play in second Test
GEORGETOWN, April 15: Australia captain Steve Waugh is expected to play in the second Test against West Indies despite having stitches in a hand injury, a team spokesman said on Monday.
“At the moment it’s a matter of seeing how it heals up,” the spokesman said.
“The general consensus is that he will (play).
“To say he’s doubtful is probably too strong. It’s really more a question of the pain than anything else.”
Waugh suffered a deep cut to the webbing between his fingers while fielding a ball during the first Test on Saturday which Australia won by nine wickets with more than one day to spare.
He went off the field to have six stitches but returned after lunch and said later that he would have been able to bat in his team’s second innings if necessary.
His injury was not a major issue at the post-match media conference on Sunday.
Asked if he would play, Waugh said: “It’s a Test match, isn’t it?”
The second Test starts in Port-of-Spain on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Waugh has warned his side against complacency after their crushing victory on Sunday.
Waugh is determined to avoid a repetition of their last tour to the Caribbean four years ago when Australia made a similarly emphatic start — cruising to an innings victory in Port-of-Spain — but failed to capitalise and drew the series 2-2.
“We have learnt our lesson from four years ago, when we were complacent in the second and third Tests and paid the price,” said Waugh.
“Even from playing this match, I know that West Indies have quite a few good batsmen and they may be stronger in the second Test, so we have to be at our best to make sure that we play well and not let them come back.”
Brian Lara, who captained the West Indies four years ago and almost single-handedly kept them afloat in the series, is already threatening to be a thorn in Australia’s side.
Lara, who reeled off scores of 213, 156 and 100 in successive Tests in the 1999 series, struck 110 in the second innings and threatened to produce an even bigger score until he hit his wicket in a follow through after missing his shot.
“He’s a great player and he showed it again with his innings on Saturday,” said Waugh. “It was technically a good innings with a lot of power and placement.
“There are only a few batsmen in the world that can make you change your field with the way they play their strokes and Brian is one of them.
“But we won this Test match by nine wickets, so I am not worried about Brian Lara. I’m worried about Australian cricket and how we are going to win. Brian can have a hundred every time if we win by nine wickets.”
West Indies are hoping that vice-captain and number Ramnaresh Sarwan, who missed the first Test through injury, will be fit for the second Test.
Opener Chris Gayle, left out after choosing to play in the World Double-Wicket Cricket Championship instead of the Carib Beer Challenge final for his country Jamaica, will also be eligible.
But there are doubts over Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who suffered a knee injury after being hit by the ball at the end of his 100 in the first innings, and wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs.
Jacobs tore a groin muscle during his first innings and, like Chanderpaul, batted with a runner in the second.
Coach Gus Logie said he was pleased with the spirit in the West Indies camp, which has been hit by internal wrangling in the past.
“It’s very different to try and change players’ techniques, but we can work on their attitudes,” he said.
“We want them to have an attitude that says ‘I want to play for West Indies’, ‘I am committed to playing for West Indies’, and at the end of the day, the skill will certainly show.”
“The atmosphere in the dressing room has been very cohesive and that’s what we have been trying to build, a situation where people respect each other, where people try to share with each other.”—Reuters
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