Windies hope Sri Lanka tour will restore pride

November 9, 2010 (AFP) - West Indies skipper Darren Sammy said Tuesday he hopes his team will perform well during their Sri Lankan tour, restoring pride and passion to the once mighty Caribbean side.





West Indies will play three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 international on the Sri Lanka trip, which begins with a three-day warm-up match at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club grounds on November 10.

"We want to win, to play well and bring the passion and pride back to the West Indies," Sammy told reporters ahead of the six-week tour.

West Indies cricket is going through a difficult time, after their opener and then captain Chris Gayle, and two key allrounders, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, turned down central contracts offered by the board last month.

In response Gayle was removed from the captaincy and replaced with 26-year-old Sammy, who has played only eight Tests since his international debut in 2007.

"We are a little bit inexperienced, young, but we have put in a good preparation work ahead of our coming here.

I am looking forward to the practice game," Sammy said.

The West Indies last toured Sri Lanka in 2005, where they played two Tests and lost to the hosts.