ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) — Head Coach Daren Sammy has revealed that batting for long periods of time was one of the main talking points of the West Indies’ training camp ahead of the start of their two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.

The home side will take on Sri Lanka in the opener at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium beginning on Thursday.

Speaking in an interview ahead of that match, Sammy said much will be expected of their batters in the series, with the Windies searching for their first Test victory in over two years.

He explained that the 10-day camp, which ended on Monday, paid particular emphasis towards improving their batting in the game’s longest format.

“For us, over the first six matches in this World Test Championship we have focused on batting for long periods and not losing so many wickets in a session and the ability to not let the bowling get into our bowling line-up when someone is bowling a good spell,” Sammy said.

SAMMY…it’s not a sprint, more like a marathon and your true character will be tested in all formats of the game.

“Those are areas that we focused on; so, a lot of concentration, a lot of attention to detail, especially when you’re in the nets batting, putting a price on your wicket and to bat long because it’s not a sprint, more like a marathon and your true character will be tested in all formats of the game.”

He admitted that even though they were playing at home, adapting to the conditions expected in Antigua had also been a big talking point.

“We trained specifically to looking at the conditions that we may face, what we expect here in Antigua and what we have to do in order to match Sri Lanka’s skill set and get the better of them.

“We’ve looked at the surface and we have a fair idea of how it’s going to play, so all of our preparations have been tailored towards that,” Sammy said.