Windies in search of confidence-boosting wins by AFP

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Event:

ICC World Cup 2006/07

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DateLine: 16th April 2007

 

The West Indies are eyeing a pair of wins not only to sustain their slim World Cup semi-final hopes, but also to put themsleves in a confident frame of mind ahead of a tour to England.

 

The hosts desperately need victories in their remaining two Super Eights matches against Bangladesh and England to stay in contention for the semi-finals, having secured just two points from five games.

 

"These are very important matches for us as we have got a tour of England coming up. It's important to get back the confidence and momentum before that," West Indies vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan said here on Sunday.

 

"We start the tour a couple of weeks after this tournament, so it is very important for us to win these two matches."

 

The West Indies are scheduled to tour England in May.

 

Defending champions Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka have already qualified for the semi-finals.

 

The West Indies vice-captain conceded his team had only a slender chance of qualifying for the semi-finals after having lost all the four matches in the second round.

 

"There's only a slight chance of making it to the semi-finals. What we need to do is to concentrate hard on winning the two games. We also need to win them by big margins," said Sarwan, tipped to replace Brian Lara as the captain.

 

"If given an opportunity (to lead the side), I'll try to do my best and whosoever is given the captaincy will get my full support," Sarwan said, adding there was a possibility of different skippers for Tests and one-dayers.

 

"You have to wait and see as there are still two more matches left."

 

Lara has already said he is quitting one-day cricket after the World Cup.

 

Sarwan said the inconsistent batting was the main reason for the team's below-par performances in the second round, which had left their fans disappointed.

 

"We have not been batting well in this tournament. The only game we batted well was against South Africa when we scored more than 250, but that was not good enough," said Sarwan.

 

"Of course, they (fans) are disappointed as we have not played well. We are sorry for the way we have played, but we want them to continue supporting us and give us the confidence to move forward.

 

"We always knew there'll be a lot of pressure on us in front of home fans, and probably some of the guys did not handle it too well."

 

The West Indies will now meet Bangladesh here on Thursday and England on Saturday.

 

"Bangladesh have improved a lot and come a long way. They are no more minnows and have done very well in this tournament. We are not taking them lightly as they have quite a few good young players," said Sarwan.

 

Bangladesh have already posted two big wins in the tournament, beating former champions India in a group match in Trinidad last month and then top-ranked South Africa in a Super Eights match in Guyana.

 

The West Indies are still searching for their first victory in the second round.

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)