West Indies cricket legend Brian Lara says West Indies are replete with match-winners but consistency will be the key to their success in English conditions at this year’s World Cup in England and Wales.
Teeming with fast bowlers and aggressive batsmen, West Indies were once considered invincible and won the opening two editions of the World Cup in l975 and 1979.
Lara, a former West Indies captain told reporters in India during the IPL that West Indies glory days, however, are long over and they had to go through a qualifying tournament to book their spot in the l0-team tournament in England starting from the end of next month.
He said the bilateral series win for West Indies, who are ranked ninth on the One-Day Internationals (ODI), but they showed signs of improvement against England.
He noted that the Jason Holder’s team drew a five match ODI series against top-ranked England 2-2 at home recently, in a timely boost for the World Cup.
The likes of opening batsman Chris Gayle, all-rounder Andre Russell and spinner Sunil Narine are also much in demand in Twenty20 leagues across the globe.
“Look at the Indian Premier League, look at the leagues around the world, we have got players that are the most wanted in the world,” he said at a promotional event in Mumbai.
“We have match winners, but we are going to need a little more than match-winners in English conditions to win the World Cup. We need a team that can create constituency,” Lara added.
Lara considered one of the very best the Caribbean islands have ever produced, retired after the 2007 World Cup at him with over 10,000 runs in ODIs. He also scored close to 12,000 runs in Tests.
