'We can be tough for any opposition' - Utseya

Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya has warned against complacency after Zimbabwe's 26-run victory in the Twenty20 at Port of Spain, but believes his side will be tough to beat if they play to their potential in the one-day series against West Indies, which starts in Georgetown on March 4.

"We are trying not to be over-confident going into the game," he said. "We know the West Indies are a good team, but once we settle down and play good cricket, we know we can be tough for any opposition on any given day."

Zimbabwe's spin-heavy bowling attack, which includes Utseya, Ray Price and Graeme Cremer, as well as the part-time contributions of Greg Lamb and Stuart Matsikenyeri, proved effective in the Twenty20, and with similar conditions expected in the first two games of the one-day series it is likely Zimbabwe will stick with the tactic.

"I must say that I am impressed with the spinners, who handled the situation effectively," said Utseya. "But there is some concern in the batting department, especially with seven of our batsmen failing to get off the mark. Having acknowledged this, we will still be looking to come out on top over them.

"There is still room for improvement in terms of how we think and we need to fix our mistakes," he added. "We don't expect an easy game, and if we do our best we will be successful. We don't want to take West Indies lightly, and we will have to play out of our skin and remain focused for Thursday and throughout the ODIs."

Ottis Gibson, West Indies' new coach, expressed his side's disappointment at their poor performance in the Twenty20, but insisted that they have been practising hard and are buoyed by the return of captain Chris Gayle to the squad.

"As a team we do feel disappointed that we lost the game," he said. "[Zimbabwe] exploited the conditions in the pitch more than we, and now our fans expect us to go hard at them. The success for winning starts at practice, and we are gaining some amount of confidence from practice all the time, hence [Zimbabwe] need to be on the lookout for us on Thursday.

"[Gayle] is an inspiration to the guys," added Gibson. "He gives them a lift as if they are on Cloud Nine. The guys understand how they need to play in certain situations, and what we have practised, and I must say, judging from how they look, I am impressed with the way things have been going so far in preparation for the game."