CricInfo Home
News Home

NEWS FOCUS
Rsa in Pak
NZ in India
Zim in Aus

Domestic
Other Series

The Australians left last night for the World Cup.

And a rejuvenated West Indies follow them tonight on the way to England, where they have enjoyed their greatest moments in Cup history.

Winners in 1975 and 1979 and losing finalists in 1983 – all at Lord's – the West Indies will, however, start the 1999 tournament as one of the outsiders for the first time.

But both coach Malcolm Marshall and manager Clive Lloyd have said no one should rule out the West Indies' chances of lifting the Cup after the final on June 20, also at Lord's. Lloyd was heartened by the West Indies' performance against the Australians where they drew both the Test and One-Day series.

On way back

The Brian Lara-led side appears to be on its way back after the humiliation of a 5-0 Test whitewash and a 6-1 limited-overs series defeat in South Africa.

The West Indies preparations have been hampered by the sudden decision by Carl Hooper to walk out on the team three weeks before the start of the tournament.

Yet, the scenario is more promising than for the last World Cup in 1996 when the West Indies went to the Indian sub-continent with Richie Richardson's captaincy under threat.

There the team lost to tournament debutants Kenya. Yet, in the following weeks, the West Indies beat South Africa, the cup favourites, in the quarter-finals thanks to a Lara century, then missed out on the final by an agonising five runs against Australia.

Crucial

Lara, who celebrates his 30th birthday today, is at the centre of the West Indies' revival on the field. His own form and fitness will be as crucial as ever. He missed the last three games of the limited-overs series against Australia because of a lingering injury to his right wrist sustained in South Africa.

On the plus side, West Indies unearthed an explosive new opener in the One-Day matches against Australia: wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs. And his partner Sherwin Campbell provided many useful runs at the start.

Jacobs, who batted impressively in the lower order during the Tests in South Africa, was promoted with great success.

Doubts still linger over the batting ability of Stuart Williams and the recalled Keith Arthurton in the middle-order, where Jimmy Adams and Shivnarine Chanderpaul offer a far more dependable option.

Veteran all-rounder Phil Simmons, who will join Hooper on the international retirement list after the World Cup, offers some hope that his robust batting and medium-pace seam bowling could be useful in English conditions where he has flourished with Leicestershire.

The bulk of the responsibility for the attack will again be carried by ageless pacemen Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose, and much of West Indies' hopes hinge on the pair staying injury-free.

Their knowledge of English pitches and unrelenting accuracy will ensure no opposing top order score easy runs, with the back-up provided by the trio of Mervyn Dillon, Reon King and Henderson Bryan.

Great deeds

The spinning duties will be borne by Nehemiah Perry, who was hard to get away in the One-Day series, while Ricardo Powell will have the huge task of trying to fill Carl Hooper's shoes.

The West Indies will be hoping that a return to the scene of those great deeds of the first three World Cups may bring back a little Caribbean magic to the world's premier One-Day cricket tournament.