Port of Spain, March 31: After back to back defeats in the Super Eight stage, the West Indies Players` Association has urged the fans to extend wholehearted support to the hosts in their bid to book a berth in the World Cup semifinals.
President of the West Indies Players` Association (WIPA), Dinanath Ramnaraine, said that in a show of strength the fans should turn out in huge numbers and provide moral support to
the home team.
"The West Indies have some key matches coming up in Guyana, Grenada and Barbados and I would like to see a full house at all those games as we had in Jamaica. The crowd will
be a vital 12th man for our team.
"The kind of support for which West Indians fans are renowned can be a huge motivating factor and it was in evidence for the games against Pakistan, Zimbabwe and
Ireland," Ramnaraine said.
The former Caribbean Test cricketer said, "It is time for us to truly rally around the West Indies. They need us and we want them to win this world cup at home.
The hosts face Sri Lanka in their third super eight fixture and must win it to keep alive their chances of being in the semifinals.
"Sundays match at the Guyana National Stadium will be a huge occasion and the word is that the Guyanese public is coming out in heavy numbers to lift the players` spirits and
hopefully propel them to victory," Ramnaraine said.
"I would like to see the rest of the region doing likewise. On the whole, I would like to ask Caribbean people to come out and support this wonderful event which we are
hosting for the first time," he added.
Bureau Report
