PERTH, Australia – Several hundred well-wishers turned out to greet the West Indies team as they were hosted to a ‘home away from home’ event at the Perth Cultural Centre on Sunday.
Fans, many of them from the West Indians were dressed their maroon jerseys and others showcased their island’s national colours. They joined the team at a street party-styled evening which took on a distinct Caribbean flavour with music and food.
The event was the city’s official welcome for the team and was jointly organized by the Perth Caribbean Society and the City of Perth council.
West Indies captain Jason Holder presented a specially signed West Indies team shirt to Dr Kim Hames. Tahj Reid, a 12-year-old Jamaican, sang “Rally Round The West Indies”. After the formal programme the players signed autographs and took photos with their adoring fans.
“We didn’t really expect so many people but after we went on stage to be introduced and say hello to the fans, we were truly touched,” said allrounder Darren Sammy, the West Indies T20 captain. “We have a great track record in Perth and we feel ‘at home’ here. This is great! This is really inspiring to see how much the people love West Indies cricket.”
West Indies, two-time World Cup champions, have won two matches and lost two in Pool B of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. They are in Perth to face India at the WACA Ground on Friday. First ball in the day/night match is 2:30pm (2:30am Eastern Caribbean Time/1:30am Jamaica Time).
FULL SQUAD (with shirt numbers)
98 – Jason Holder (Captain)
7 – Marlon Samuels (Vice Captain)
62 – Sulieman Benn
78 – Jonathan Carter
25 – Johnson Charles
19 – Sheldon Cottrell
45 – Chris Gayle
33 – Nikita Miller
80 – Denesh Ramdin
24 – Kemar Roach
12 – Andre Russell
88 – Darren Sammy
54 – Lendl Simmons
50 – Dwayne Smith
75 – Jerome Taylor
SCHEDULE OF MATCHES
Monday, Feb 16: Ireland beat West Indies by 4 wickets – Saxton Oval, Nelson
Saturday, Feb 21: West Indies beat Pakistan by 150 runs – Hagley Oval, Christchurch
Tuesday, Feb 24: West Indies beat Zimbabwe by 73 runs (DL Method) – Munaka Oval, Canberra
Friday, Feb 27: South Africa beat West Indies by 257 runs – SCG, Sydney
Friday, Mar 6: vs India – WACA Ground, Perth (day/night)
Sunday, Mar 15: vs United Arab Emirates – McLean Park, Napier
