2011 Cricket World Cup Preview: West Indies

In news that will shock anyone, the West Indies have announced an extremely talented side to lead the Cricket World Cup 2011 in the subcontinent. Like the Windies teams goals in the last fifteen years, this team has an extraordinary amount of promise, but is completely safe if it will do so in the second phase of the tournament.

Along with captain Darren Sammy in the team names like Chris Gayle, Dwayne and Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Shiv Chanderpaul, Kemar Roach and Ramnaresh Sarwan back. However, while this list represents a potentially outstanding core, the West Indies, is likely to be as fragile as ever. Much of the problem stems from the problems surrounding the center of the contracts of the West Indies, who appear to be less safe, and have seen key players represent franchises T20 before the national team. In addition, the lack of Competitive cricket in recent times, due in part to a series of washes in Sri Lanka, means that the Windies have had little time to "gel" as a unit.

Another potential problem, as pointed out by Cricinfo, is the latest major player Ronnie Sarwan. Once a mainstay in the team, Sarwan has been out for a while with injuries and poor form. Although it is now over 30, Sarwan remains one of the key players, averaging over 43 in ODI. The plight of the team is further hampered by the bowling stocks, which have no Roach, but also include the likes of Ravi Rampaul and non-treated André Russell (only names likely to shake in their boots top hitter collective). It remains a mystery to me why Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor to stay out of the face, but if combined with Roach and a fine spinner Sulieman Benn, would have a very respectable bowling line-up.

These problems aside, the Windies could become competitive. It's a tired cliché, but in their day can beat anyone. It is a time that Ian Bradshaw and Courtney Browne hit the winner going to the Windies in 2004 Champions Trophy, but with the right amount of luck and clever planning and selection, there is always a remote possibility that they may discover that they are holding up a major trophy again.

West Indies Squad: Darren Sammy (CPT), Chris Gayle Bravo, Dwayne, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, Sulieman Benn, Nikita Miller, Carlton Baugh (weeks), Andre Russell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Shiv Chanderpaul, Adrian Barath