By Tony Cozier
A HOST of variables confront the West Indies in the seventh, and last, ICC Champions Trophy tournament that starts for them against Pakistan on Friday at London’s Oval, venue as well for their second qualifying round match against India on Tuesday week. It was there that they achieved their unforgettable triumph in the 2004 final when, as considerable outsiders, they defeated an England team that had whitewashed them 4-0 in the preceding Test series.
The Oval was once a home away from home for the West Indies with packed and vocal support from their immigrant kith and kin who had located in the neighbouring Brixton and Stockwell areas after settling in London in the Fifties and Sixties; for a variety of reasons, steep ticket prices prominent among them, support