'No half measures' - Brathwaite warns World XI that Windies will play to win

LONDON, England (CMC):

The Windies intend to play Thursday's high-profile Twenty20 International against the ICC World XI at full throttle, in spite of the fact the match will serve as a fund-raiser to help with hurricane relief in the Caribbean.

The match, which brings together several global stars of the game, bowls off at Lord's at 6 p.m. (12 p.m. Jamaica time), and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

Funds from the game will go towards the refurbishment of five stadia affected by the passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria last September, including Test venues Windsor Park and the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium.

And though the contest is for charity, Windies captain Carlos Brathwaite told reporters the Caribbean side would be taking the game as seriously as they did any other international.

INTERNATIONAL GAMES

"For me personally, every time I put on the maroon for the West Indies, it is a proper full international game," Brathwaite said.

"Obviously it has been listed as a charity game and the reason we're playing the game is for charity but personally there's a lot of pride involved and as a West Indies player and a West Indies captain and also a fan of West Indies cricket, every time you take the field I want to win and I want to give a hundred per cent.

"There won't be any half-measures on my behalf, whether in a captain capacity or as a player, and I think I speak for the rest of the team when I say we're going out there to entertain and ultimately to win."

Brathwaite, who played in last Sunday's Indian Premier League final for Hyderabad Sunrisers before jetting off to London, will be joined by several of the Windies leading stars.

Superstar opener Chris Gayle is a member of the squad, along with exciting all-rounder Andre Russell and big-hitting opener Evin Lewis, with the likes of leg-spinner Samuel Badree and resurgent wicketkeeper-batsman Denesh Ramdin included.

The World XI will be led by flamboyant Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi after England white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan was forced to pull out on Monday with a fractured finger.

SQUADS:

ICC World XI: Shahid Afridi (captain), Sam Billings, Sam Curran, Tamim Iqbal, Tymal Mills, Dinesh Karthik, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Mitchell McClenaghan, Shoaib Malik, Thisara Perera, Luke Ronchi, Adil Rashid.

WEST INDIES: Carlos Brathwaite (captain), Samuel Badree, Rayad Emrit, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Kesrick Williams.