West Indies head coach Daren Sammy wants his team to complete a 2-0 series win over Bangladesh and end the year without losing a Test series for the first time in more than three decades.
West Indies lead the two-match series 1-0 after their eight-wicket victory in Mirpur. They will face Bangladesh in the second Test in Sylhet on Thursday.
Sammy said his players had already achieved an important goal by making sure they could not lose the series.
“Well, we came here to win. You know, it’s the first time, Jerome and the analyst was telling us, it’s the first time in 32 years, I think, we’ve not since 1994, we’ve not finished a calendar year without losing a series,” Sammy said at Wednesday’s press conference.
“We wanted to come here 2-0 and we have put ourselves in a position to do that.”
The West Indies coach believes a series win in Bangladesh would show how much his team have improved. Sammy took charge during a difficult period for West Indies Test cricket. His team faced tough opponents and struggled to find the right balance.
However, he believes the players are now starting to show the results of their hard work.
“It’s going to be a big achievement,” Sammy said when asked about the possibility of winning the series 2-0.
“To come here and do that would be a massive end, a great end for us in the Test Championship.”
Sammy said West Indies had faced a difficult start to his time as Test coach, with matches against Australia, India and New Zealand. But he always believed the team could improve as the players gained experience.
“We’re right on course to finish with the goal we had in mind in this test cycle,” he said.
Despite winning the first Test, Sammy expects Bangladesh to fight back strongly in Sylhet. He knows Bangladesh coach Phil Simmons well and believes the hosts will be determined to level the series.
“Knowing Bangladesh, knowing Phil, the way he operates, he’s going to come out for blood, you know, and we don’t expect it to be anything easy,” Sammy said.
“But the preparation we’ve put in, we know we could counteract and come out victorious.”
The West Indies coach also praised his players for staying focused despite the problems facing cricket in the Caribbean.
Sammy also revealed that the players have discussed the importance of ending the year with another victory.
“And the last step is to win this test match and finish 2-0. And like the skipper said to the guys, that would be a good Christmas present for us,” he said.
