Mumbai, February 22 West Indies head coach Daren Sammy said on Sunday that Zimbabwe may have drawn extra motivation from being grouped with higher-seeded teams Sri Lanka and Australia in Group B, a factor he believes could have inspired them to perform better and finish on top.
To the surprise of the cricketing world, Zimbabwe topped Group B ahead of Sri Lanka, while former champions Australia were eliminated.
The seedings for the Super Eights have been a major topic of discussion since the T20 World Cup's business end began.
Sammy said he understands the logistical aspect.
"If you consider the logistics, it's about giving fans, who are likely traveling, an opportunity to plan ahead," Sammy told reporters ahead of West Indies' Super Eights clash against Zimbabwe.
"...The biggest thing for most people is that they would be saying, 'Oh! West Indies came out of the group' (or) 'Oh! Zimbabwe came out of the group' – that means someone they expected to come out did not."
"Zimbabwe did what they had to do. If we weren't seeded, and I saw this opponent was going to play, that gives me motivation."
"I'm pretty sure Zimbabwe, looking at that group, gave them the motivation and inspiration to play the way they did. But I do understand from the logistical standpoint, trying to give the fans the assurance."
However, Sammy didn't put much emphasis on how teams were placed.
"You rarely get the top teams in the same round. My team knows they have to play in a World Cup. We've got Zimbabwe tomorrow, then we've got South Africa and then India," he said.
"We've got the two finalists of the last World Cup. If you're going to win, you have to play the team in front of you. You can't take anything for granted, and you can't take anyone lightly. If you start to bring in other factors, it takes you off track," he said.
When asked how the West Indies approach a contest against a team like Zimbabwe, which was not expected to last so far in the tournament, Sammy asked, "Who said Zimbabwe is not supposed to be here?"
"A lot of people say West Indies is not supposed to be here either. When you're in a World Cup, you have to respect every opposition."
"That's what we've been doing; that's what I encourage my guys to do. Respect the opposition, but believe in yourself, believe in your processes and your execution. Tomorrow, we will approach it the same way we would approach a game against India or Australia or whoever," Sammy said.
The two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain said the format has the trait of bringing teams together.
"Like us, they (Zimbabwe) are very confident, they are playing some good cricket. T20 is a format that brings teams closer together. There's no clear-cut winner. These guys have played well. Zimbabwe, missing out on the last World Cup, they are led well. Sikandar (Raza) is very confident. He leads by example."
"They've got six fans in the stands that sounds like one million. There are a lot of things that are going for them. I could understand from that standpoint, where nobody gives you a chance and how you could use that as inspiration," Sammy added.
"This tournament, we had 20 teams. Especially in our group (C), everybody won a game. The Associate teams have really pushed the full members. It says that the game is growing, especially in the shorter format. One person could actually impact the game on winning or losing."
With the West Indies having multiple match-winners in their unbeaten run so far, Sammy said it is due to diligence shown by every member of the side.
"It's the first time in a long time that we've had every single person that is available for West Indies playing," he said.
"Just the way we've been building, the different players that we've tried heading into the World Cup, it's a conscious effort on each player to just pay a little bit more attention to the detail, the preparation, the planning."
He added, "Plus, the guys believe they could do something special, that's what I saw and that's why I said it from the first press conference (that) I feel we could do something special."
