Confident and ready! - Windies look to execute against Pakistan in World Cup opener

0NOTTINGHAM, England (CMC):

Fuelled by a desire to prove their many detractors wrong, a confident West Indies will launch an ambitious bid to win the ICC World Cup when they take on enigmatic Pakistan at Trent Bridge today.

Winners of the first two World Cups back in 1975 and 1979, West Indies’ star has since fallen and are no longer considered one-day powerhouses. And with just a single series win in the last five years, their tag of underdogs is perhaps justified.

Yet, their performance against world number-ones and tournament favourites, England, in the Caribbean this year pointed to somewhat of a rejuvenation, giving players and fans alike the faintest of hope that the side could put together a formidable World Cup challenge.

Written off before the start of the England series, the Caribbean side managed to pull off a 2-2 draw, doing so while brandishing a bold, audacious brand of cricket not seen in recent years. The result also instilled a new level of self-belief in the squad and there is now a quiet confidence the Caribbean side can now put the lean years of under-achievement behind them.

Captain Jason Holder, leading West Indies for the second straight World Cup, said that the squad was settled and in a good place mentally heading into the opening clash against Pakistan.

“One thing I like coming into this tournament is that every player is in a good frame of mind,” he said.

“Everybody is playing with a smile on their face, and I think that’s how we play our best cricket. We’re fearless, we enjoy what we’re doing and we enjoy one another’s company. I can safely say within the group we’ve got that.

“We’ve got an atmosphere that we would like to create, and we’ve got the energy going into this tournament that we would want to have.”

He added: “I think the rest is left down to us on the field. We’ve just got to execute whatever plans we formulate, and I think execution is key in this tournament, you know, whether it’s West Indies, England, India, or whoever.

“I think the teams that execute their plans and (are) as disciplined as they can, more often than not they’re going to come out on top.”

West Indies will have to buck recent history against Pakistan, which has seen them lose 11 of their last 16 ODIs in bilateral series. The Caribbean side have had better luck against Pakistan in World Cup match-ups, however, winning six of their eight meetings – including in the 2015 edition when they crushed their Asian opponents by 150 runs.

For their part, Pakistan enter the contest on the back of a poor run of form that has seen them lose 13 of their last 18 ODIs. Earlier this month, they were creamed 4-0 in a five-match series by hosts England.

But Pakistan are mercurial, lurching from mediocre to brilliant in the blink of an eye and Holder said that his team would be taking nothing for granted against them.

“We’ve obviously looked at their players, tried to formulate our plans towards them and obviously our mode of attack,” he explained.

“We’ve had a few discussions as the team and a few team meetings just to formulate whatever plans we’re going into tomorrow’s game with. But yeah, it’s just a normal thing. It’s nothing different depending on who the team is.

West Indies’ batting is to be feared. Headed by veteran talisman Chris Gayle, it boasts the likes of the classy Shai Hope and Darren Bravo, as well as the brawn of Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer and the spectacular André Russell.

Against England earlier this year, they twice scored in excess of 350 – including an all-time record 389 in the fourth ODI in Grenada. Their mammoth 421 against New Zealand in their last official warm-up in Bristol last Tuesday served as a timely reminder of the Caribbean side’s ability and at Trent Bridge where there have been several large totals this season, expectations are already high.

However, Holder reminded that cricket was played on the day and depended heavily on conditions, and there was no guarantee of consistently high totals.