NOTTINGHAM, England, CMC – If the West Indies can emulate their performance against Pakistan throughout the World Cup, legendary former captain Clive Lloyd expects them to beat some of the higher ranked teams.
In their opening match on Friday, Oshane Thomas and Andre Russell bowled with pace and accuracy to rout Pakistan for 105, their second lowest score in World Cup history.
Chris Gayle then smashed a 33-ball fifty as the Windies eased to a seven-wicket victory with 218 balls to spare.
Lloyd lauded the regional team for their performance, especially in light of the fact that Pakistan had proved troublesome in the past.
“I think Pakistan has previously given us problems so it was a very admirable performance and I can only wish Jason Holder and the rest of the boys well for the rest of the tournament. I’m sure they will upset a few of the big boys if they play like that,” said Lloyd, the last West Indies captain to win the coveted World Cup.
“This game has proven that we have some firepower and that means we can match anybody in this competition. We have to try and test out our batting now, that’s the real test going forward. We have to see how they do when they have to bat first and try and post a good total.
“I want to see how we get on if we have to defend a total, but it’s shaping up really well at the moment and they couldn’t have asked for a better start to the tournament. Admittedly, Pakistan was not at their best but I think that was more to with the West Indies pressure as that was a good tactic,” he added.
However, Lloyd said he expected a much sterner test when the Windies take on Australia in their next game on Thursday. He said it was now left to be seen if the regional side could perform under pressure.
“We just need to see what happens when the pressure is on the West Indies, but the game against Australia should do that as that will be a good test of where we are at.
“Australia has got some firepower and some very good batsmen, so that should be an excellent game. That will give you an idea if West Indies can qualify or not,” Lloyd pointed out.
“It’s going to be a good test and I also want to see the game against England, that too is going to be quite the contest. England has some real firepower and variety too.”
