Windies should never be written off

It just goes to show how quickly fortunes can turn in this enthralling World Cup competition. Many punters and so-called experts wrote off the West Indies before they even arrived in England, suggesting they were lacking in batting depth and had too many aging fast bowlers to be competitive.

What these people seemed to have forgotten was that they had recently completed a very tough test and one-day series against the Aussies, in which many have implied that in light of past events, they came up trumps in the final wrap up. Drawing both series against all odds must have been a significant confidence booster for Lara's talented team after what had been a very turbulent six months in Caribbean cricket.

Reading the scorecard at the end of play this evening the two names at the top of the bowling list were notable: Curtly Ambrose's one for 19 off ten overs and Courtney Walsh's one for 23 off ten. Any bowling attack with these two names heading the register will cause any team more worries than most. Add to that core of greatness fast bowlers like Dillon and King and the West Indies have a formidable base of bowling to mount a very strong case against their critics.

Considering the lively wickets and swinging white balls that have dominated this competition, I feel the great Ambrose and Walsh could see the next four weeks as the perfect way to finish off their illustrious careers. If this is the case it would be very naive for anyone to dismiss the proud West Indians as prospective finalists.

With Lara finding form and Ridley Jacobs relishing his new role in the opening position, the batting also looks quite strong. Shivnarine Chanderpaul is a classy player, Jimmy Adams a fighter of the highest order and Sherwin Campbell, Phil Simmons and Stuart Williams talented hitters of the cricket ball.

Before the tournament started it was becoming apparent to me that the critics felt the West Indies top order might struggle against the swinging ball. In reality who doesn't?

By beating the Kiwis today the contest in this group is truly heating up with the Aussies under immense pressure to win their last two games. Without the liberty of a crystal ball, my gut feeling tells me that the game between the West Indies and Australia, on Sunday May 30, could prove to be a final in itself. They say 'you have to be in it to win it' and unless a team progresses to the super-six section then they will be on the plane to their home countries.

Being so cut throat, there is no room for mistakes or complacency as we have seen in the first fortnight of this grand cricket event, and it will be the most consistent performers who take the next step.

The last two days have been significant in sorting out the current placings and predictions, although as I have maintained, there is still a long way to go in this marathon event with the strongest and hungriest teams sure to continue to climb.

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