Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - The West Indies player pay disputes are a thing of the past as the side arrived in South Africa to take on the Proteas in their three Test series, according to team manager team manager Richie Richardson.
"In recent weeks we haven't had any discussions about that (pay disputes)," said Richardson on the team's arrival at a press conference in Sandton on Tuesday.
"That means we are not focussing on what has happened, we're now focussing on the future which is here in South Africa to play Test cricket."
The West Indies players pulled out of the fifth and final ODI against hosts India in October over a pay dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), and the remaining ODI, one T20 International (T20I) and the three Test series were all cancelled.
The experienced West Indies duo of Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo, both withdrew from the squad in the lead-up to the side's arrival in South Africa to cast further doubt on the Caribbean outfit's ability to compete with the top ranked Proteas side.
Richardson, however, indicated the team selected would be up for the contest against the much-fancied South African side.
"All the players are ready for the challenges they are going to face.
"It won't be easy against South Africa at home, but we are prepared for the challenge and we are going to give it our best and give a good account of ourselves."
The first match of the three Test series begins on December 17 in Centurion, and the eighth-ranked West Indies, who have lost six of their last ten Test matches, would try and prove their critics wrong according to captain Denesh Ramdin.
"It bothers us, we've not been playing consistent cricket," said Ramdin.
"We'll try to get acclimatised to the pitches as quickly as possible with their bowling attack.
"It's going to be tough mentally, but we have some senior players that will help the younger players."
One of the senior players Ramdin referred to is to 40-year-old Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
The dependable left-hander lies eighth on the all-time Test run scorers list with 11684 runs at an average of 53.10, and also comes into the series off the back of a century in his previous Test against Bangladesh in September.
"Hopefully the experienced players will help us play some really positive cricket," said Ramdin.
After the Test series, the West Indies will play three T20 Internationals and five One Day Internationals ending just over two weeks before the Cricket World Cup begins in February.
