Caribbean cricket flavour is in the Potchefstroom air as the West Indies cricket team arrived in the city this week.

The 2016 World T20 champions will use their time in Potchefstroom wisely as warm-up preparation for their upcoming tour to Zimbabwe, where they will face the hosts and Sri Lanka in an ODI Tri-Series tournament.

The West Indies ODI squad has been practising at Senwes Park since Tuesday, and will be using some of Potchefstroom’s renowned sports facilities such as the HPI and Sports Village for the duration of their visit.

The main event of their time here will be a 50-over match against the Seeff North West Dragons at Senwes Park on Friday 11 November. This match will start at 09:30 and will be a fantastic chance to see some of cricket’s biggest international stars take on the best in the province.

Fans will be able to see Carlos and Kraigg Braithwaite; West Indies captain, Jason Holder; the tall left-arm spinner, Sulieman Benn and Darren Bravo, among others, in action. They will be taking on well-known local Dragons such as Johannes Diseko and Wihan Lubbe, to name just a few.

The current interim head coach of West Indies, Henderson Springer, is also well known around Potchefstroom as he played and coached here in the 1990s. Springer was a Barbados and Western Transvaal cricketer between 1987 and 1998 and played for Potch Dorp Cricket Club. He also coached at Potchefstroom Boys High.

“I was involved in Western Transvaal Cricket from September 1993 to March 1997 and enjoyed my time here a lot. I believe I was also the first black captain of the then Western Transvaal cricket team,’ Springer mentioned before focusing on the present matches ahead for his side.

‘The match against the Dragons on Friday will give our guys time in the middle to work on their match practice. The important aspect will be to focus on various situations during the game. It can be a double-edged sword depending on whether you are bowling or batting,’ he added.

Springer was also pleasantly surprised by the quality of the facilities in and around the cricket stadium and believes their time here in Potchefstroom will be ideal preparation for their upcoming Tri-Series.

“The important thing will be to build momentum and self-belief. We want to win the competition, use the resources at our disposal and make a serious impact,’ emphasised the man who has been part of the WI national set-up in various capacities since 2006.

The Tri-Series starts on Monday 14 November.