Skipper Rovman Powell called it right at the all-important toss of West Indies’ T20 World Cup season opener and inserted Assad Vala's Papua New Guinea to bat first. (More Cricket News)
Explaining the idea behind bowling first, Powell said: "We are going to bowl first. It is a fresh wicket, we will hope to restrict them and then our batters can chase it down. It is going to be the same Providence wicket and it provides us an opportunity to play good cricket. I am excited and the team is excited to win a home WC, it is something we are looking forward to and hopefully we can deliver. We have two all rounders and three spinners."
PNG skipper Assad Vala, also talking about the surface, and team composition: "It looks like a good wicket even though there's been rain around for the last two days. We have the right balance at the moment with a lot of all rounders. The preparation has been very good, we have been here for over two weeks and are looking forward to the toiurnament.."
From using umbrellas for heavy rains in Guyana to using them for shade from the sun, the weather gods have been very kind around the Providence Stadium in Georgetown.
West Indies enter the tournament with a lot of confidence, beating South Africa 3-0 at home, and also defeating Australia in a warm-up game run fest. On the other hand, PNG will come into the contest with different goals.
The Assad Vala's side will look to spring up an upset on a slow Guyana strip.
Teams
West Indies XI: Johnson Charles, Brandon King, Roston Chase, Nicholas Pooran(w), Rovman Powell(c), Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd, Sherfane Rutherford, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie
PNG XI: Tony Ura, Sese Bau, Assad Vala(c), Lega Siaka, Hiri Hiri, Charles Amini, Kiplin Doriga(w), Alei Nao, Chad Soper, Kabua Morea, John Kariko
