Some needle in crucial clash

With Australia losing their first match against Pakistan, West Indies losing against India and beating Bangladesh, today's afternoon game at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium at Mirpur may prove to be pivotal to their advancement hopes. As if the stakes were not high enough, a bit of animosity seems to have built up over some verbal exchanges on the day before the match.
Australian all-rounder James Faulkner, who was fined part of his match fee for giving Chris Gayle a verbal rocket after dismissing him in an ODI in February 2013, said that he did not particularly like West Indies. That evidently irked Caribbean skipper Darren Sammy. “The Australians normally have a lot to say. It does not bother us,” said Sammy in the pre-match press conference in Mirpur yesterday. “I think the last time we played them in a World Cup (beating Australia in the semifinal of the previous edition) we all know what happened. If anybody should be talking probably we should.
“So far in this tournament we have not played to our full potential. Once we do that, we will be very destructive. We were destructive in that semi-final last World Cup.”
While their traditional strength has been pace, in recent times spin has been a more crucial weapon for West Indies. “It will be a good contest. Badree and Narine are one and two in the world in T20 cricket at the moment and Badree has been getting wickets up front for us in the first six overs. It won't be an easy game. The Australians are a good side.”
Apart from Bangladesh, Australia are the only side in Group 2 who are winless and so will have to get a move on to justify their pre-tournament favourites tag. “Sometimes that can relieve the pressure because you know where you stand now. There is no second chance for us. We have got to make sure that we bring our A game and deliver under pressure. We have done that well over the last four months and I see no reason why we can't continue with that,” said wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.
Unlike West Indies, Australia's strength lies firmly in their fast bowling stocks. There is a possibility that Australia will go in with three left-arm seamers in Doug Bollinger, Mitchell Starc and Faulkner, who is expected to return. “James pulled up well last night so I think he will come into contention. We have got quite a lot of options we can go with. There are a few left-armers in the team, so we will see who we could go with,” Haddin said.
With hard-hitters in both sides and with the possible return of Faulkner the match promises to be a high-octane one where ball, bat and vocals will come into play.