Team West Indies at World Cup

Team West Indies at World Cup

Nobody expects West Indies to dominate World Cups like they used to in the past. Not only do they not have a star performer to pull them through the tournament, they even lack the belief. But this is exactly the kind of situation that West Indies faced in the 2004 Champions Trophy and they came out winners in the fading light in England. Led by Darren Sammy, they are a motley crew, but they have batting experience in the form of Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan; all-rounders like Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard and the pace of Jerome Taylor to carry them to the quarters.

Darren Sammy/ Captain

A happy-go-lucky guy (like most people from the Caribbean) Sammy brings with him vigour, innovation and is a welcome break from the domination of the players from the better known islands. He is the first player from St Lucia to represent the national team and if his Twitter page is any indication, likes to have his fun when he is not playing cricket.

Although he has only played 43 matches, he was awarded the captaincy of the West Indies when no one wanted to be in the hot seat. But his performances in Tests have been impressive and he has won both the ODIs that he has led the team in. A fast-medium bowler with sprightly pace, he can also swing the bat in dire situations and as he showed against South Africa last year, can nearly win matches too doing that.u00a0

Chris Gayle

Gayle typifies the opener of the limited-overs era; he doesn't waste any time hanging about and when he gets going, the opposition are left far behind. Always ready with a smile when he swings and misses, he is prone to bowling his darting offbreaks with sunglasses on. A dashing cricketer, he is also quite accurate when throwing at the stumps from the inner circle.u00a0

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Over 8,500 runs and nearly 17 years of international cricket have made Chanderpaul battle-hardened. He has been a bulwark for the West Indies for several years, seeing the team through thick and thin. A very adept batsman, he can play the big shots, but is at his best when building the innings.u00a0

Ramnaresh Sarwan

Swift on the front foot and a very technical batsman, Sarwan has been a middle-order mainstay for several years. He can adjust the pace of his scoring according to the situation and has scored over 5000 runs in just 156 ODIs. He returns to the team after a long spell on the sidelines, as West Indies look to bank on his experience to get past the tricky group stages.u00a0

Kieron Pollard

One word sums up Pollard: Explosive. He is brutal to anything bowled loose and even the best of deliveries can be dispatched over the ropes with effortless ease. His bowling can be deceptively quick and tends to stop on the batsman, meaning he picks up crucial wickets in the middle overs. He is as good a fielder as any in the side and has a terrific throw from the deep.u00a0

Dwayne Bravo

A key man in the West Indian machine, Bravo is an impressive allrounder, who bats lower down the order; his highest score of 112 suggests he can bat higher. He is quite handy with the ball as well - 129 wickets are ample evidence, with a number of them coming in the crucial middle overs. He is by far the best fielder in the side.u00a0

Jerome Taylor

A lively pacer, Taylor has proved himself on the big stage for a quite a few seasons now. A hat-trick against Australia in the 2006 Champions Trophy really stamped his name as a ODI prospect as did a superb Test series against India the previous year. He is also a handy batsman with a Test century to his credit, so the team can definitely use his skills in the lower order.u00a0

WC Recordu00a0
1975u00a0- Winners of the first World Cup, beating Australia in the final.
1979 -u00a0Winners again, this time beating England.
1983 -u00a0Upset by India in the final.
1987 -u00a0Could not move past the group stage.u00a0
1992 -u00a0Missed out on a semi-final berth.u00a0
1996 -u00a0Lost in the semi-finals to Australia.
1999 -u00a0Ousted in the first round.u00a0
2003 -u00a0Dumped in the first round.u00a0
2007 -u00a0Made it to the Super 8 stage, but not any further.u00a0

Follow West Indiesu00a0

Feb 24 VS South Africau00a0
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

Feb 28 VS Netherlandsu00a0
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhiu00a0

Mar 4 VS Bangladeshu00a0
Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

Mar 11 VS Irelandu00a0
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarhu00a0

Mar 17 VS Englandu00a0
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennaiu00a0

Mar 20 VS Indiau00a0
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai

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