by HAYDN GILL in St Lucia

ST LUCIA'S first international cricketer is bubbling with excitement ahead of his first international appearance in the land of his birth.

West Indies have a grand chance today to complete their first series whitewash against a major international nation in 16 years, local boy Darren Sammy, mindful of the impact of the crowd, expects Beausejour Stadium to be packed for the Caribbean's second day/night international.

"We West Indian people like when you are performing. When the team is performing well, the crowd rallies behind us. The guys are very appreciative of that," Sammy said yesterday.

"We are looking forward to a large crowd. We want to go out there and represent. . . . I think St Lucians will look to come out to support the team again."

For the most part, there have been big crowds in the 15 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) at Beausejour since the ground opened in 2002.

With the match falling on a work day, the turn-out at the start could be lower than previous matches, but a 2 p.m. start and 6:15 p.m. resumption after the dinner break affords fans who are working, the opportunity to come in for the second half of the match.

For Sammy, the occasion itself is of some significance.

Never before in any of his previous 12 ODIs has the 24-year-old all-rounder made an appearance on home soil.

"It's an amazing feeling for me although it hasn't happened as yet. As you grow up, you dream to play an international game in front of your home crowd," Sammy said.

"Any time I wear any cricket jersey, I'm under pressure. It is not anything new to me, but this time around, where I know the stadium will be packed, it's a little more pressure," he said.

Sammy had a reasonably good outing in the first match of the series with his ten overs going for 38 runs. In the second match, he was slightly more expensive when his five overs went for 25. In the first match, he failed in his only chance with the bat.

"I'm picked as an all-rounder. My bowling has been very economical, but I have to turn up with the bat. I'm looking to improve in every game
I play," he said.

West Indies have to go back to as far as 1992 to find an instance of achieving a clean-sweep against a major cricket-playing nation.

Since beating South Africa in the Caribbean 18 years ago, they have had two whitewashes against Bangladesh and were also unbeaten a few series when a few matches were hit by rain.

Sammy and his teammates are keen on making it three out of three against Sri Lanka to restore a semblance of pride for the regional team.