Twenty20 World Cup / Andrew Hughes / 02 June 2009 /

The West Indies need to buck their ideas up if they want to survive the Group of Death...Andrew Hughes assesses their chances.

Just when the West Indians appear to be pulling themselves out of their decade long slump, they let their supporters down again.

A gritty performance in the Caribbean was followed by a tame surrender to England last month and the return of some familiar weaknesses. Shocking fielding, undisciplined batting and accusations of disinterest were much in evidence and more of the same in the World Twenty20 would see the West Indians dumped out of the Group of Death and finally able to catch that flight home that so many of them seem to have been yearning for since they arrived in England.

Key Batsman

Chris Gayle can win matches on his own, but if he doesn't fire, it invariably falls to Shivnarine Chanderpaul to hold the team together. Known as a stodgy Test player, he has the capacity to play some outrageous and audacious strokes and can score quickly when required. He is likely to bat up the order, possibly as high as three and if he has a good tournament, the West Indies are in with a chance.

Key Bowler

Fidel Edwards has become one of the best Twenty20 bowlers in the world, particularly adept at utilising the slower ball, of which he has at least three different variants. He also happens to be the fastest of the West Indian bowlers and he will be expected both to make early breakthroughs and bowl at the death.

Captain

Gayle has been much maligned in recent weeks but taken as a whole, his time as captain has seen an improvement in West Indian fortunes. Though his languid style might rub some people up the wrong way, he undoubtedly retains the respect and support of his players.

Conclusions

Though they have a relatively poor Twenty20 record, the West Indies retain the ability to shock the best. They have a couple of fiery fast bowlers, a quirky and effective spinner in Sulieman Benn and a brace of solid all-rounders in Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy. Talent they have and Allen Stanford's ill-fated experiment did at least show what could be achieved if that talent could be harnessed to hard work and meticulous preparation. But what we have seen so far this summer does not suggest that they are about to make the most of their ability and their current odds of [20.0] in the tournament winners market are a reflection of that.

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