Windsor Park curator responds to Dyson's pleas
West Indies head coach, John Dyson, will be pleased to hear that his requests for fast pitches have not fallen on deaf ears in Dominica, where the Digicel One Day International Series is set to commence on Sunday, July 26th, at Windsor Park.
Richard LeTang, head curator of Windsor Park, says that he will respond favourably to Dyson's requests for pitches with pace and bounce.
"(Dyson) is going to get exactly what he asked for, it's going to give you some serious pace and bounce," LeTang told DigicelCricket.com in an exclusive interview while taking a break from attending to the piece of exquisite real estate in Roseau, the capital city.
"The spinners will have to work hard," LeTang revealed. This is good news for the home side batsmen as they have suffered against the Bangladeshi spinners. In the Second Digicel Test in Grenada, which the Windies lost, the visiting spinners took 18 of the 20 wickets to fall.
Upon arrival in Dominica, Dyson had repeatedly mentioned in a press briefing that he wanted to see a pitch which would assist fast bowling - the strength of the West Indies and the Achilles heel of Bangladesh.
"I'm looking forward to the One Dayers, what I'd like to see is a hard, pacy, bouncy wicket," said Dyson on Wednesday.
Despite the promised pace and bounce, LeTang believes that a total of 300 would be achievable on the Windsor Park pitch and outfield, where international cricket will be played for the first time.
"300 is gettable here because we have a fast outfield. I think it is the fastest in the Caribbean and also the fastest drying outfield in the Caribbean," LeTang declared.
He did warn though, that on the days of the games, the captains - Floyd Reifer and Shakib Al Hasan - will have to put on their thinking caps and use their initiative, but he was in no doubt about what the decision at the toss should be.
"This Windsor Park ground has been one that changes, but when you come and you win the toss it's an advantage to bat first," LeTang concluded with confidence.