Agency, Johannesburg :
The West Indies will hold their first training session in Centurion Sunday, as they beef up preparations for the first Test against South Africa starting Wednesday.
The Caribbean side will be put through a full session at Supersport Park, the venue for the first Test, reported CMC.
The West Indies are coming off an impressive outing in the three-day warm-up match which finished Friday, where their batsmen excelled against an Invitational XI in Benoni.
Top order batsman Marlon Samuels smashed a more-than-run-a-ball double century while opener Devon Smith, a late call-up as a replacement for the injured Chris Gayle, stroked 174, as the West Indies piled up 508 in their first innings.
Rookie left-arm seamer Sheldon Cottrell, who arrived here a week after the squad and just a few days before the tour match, grabbed five wickets to blow away the hosts for 125.
Rain washed out Friday’s final day, robbing the Windies of valuable match practice in what is the only tour match of the series.
The West Indies have never beaten South Africa at home and have won just one of their last 14 Tests against the Proteas, losing nine.
Pundits are expecting a one-side series with the West Indies ranked number eight in the ICC Test rankings and South Africa dominating the top spot.
Cristiano Ronaldo buys $10,000 watches for Real Madrid teammates in celebration of ‘La Decima’
Cristiano Ronaldo is in the running for a second straight Ballon d’Or, the award given to the FIFA World Player of the Year. He would also be in contention for FIFA World Teammate of the Year if the honor existed, after showering his Real Madridteammates with a special gift.
To commemorate Real Madrid’s 10th European championship after beating intracity rival Atletico Madrid 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League final last May, Ronaldo bought each of his teammates a Bulgari watch engraved with “La Décima,” Ronaldo’s initials and shirt number (CR7) and each player’s name. The price tag for each watch: 8,200 euros, or just over $10,200.
Ronaldo handed out the watches before the team traveled to its hotel on Thursday night in preparation for Friday’s La Liga game against Almeria. FormerLiverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa showed off his brand-new watch on Twitter.
Ronaldo, one of three Ballon d’Or finalists with Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, continued his scoring rampage Friday with a brace in a 4-1 win over Almeria – Real Madrid’s 20th in a row – giving him an incredible 25 goals in just 14 league games. In all competitions, Ronaldo has 32 goals in only 23 games.
The night before, he obviously scored some major points with his teammates.
