Lara wants Windies to be consistent

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: Brian Lara, the West Indies great, said the main challenge for Jason Holder’s men at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 was to get to the knock-out stage — after which they had the match-winners “to beat any team”.

Lara, who retired with 10,405 runs from 299 One-Day Internationals, said the team’s main concern was lack of consistency.

“The West Indies have match-winners, but that’s not enough to play in English conditions and win the World Cup. We need a team that is consistent,” he said on April 4, during a function in Mumbai.

“But once they are in the knock-out, they can beat any team, we have seen that in the past.”

The West Indies, two-time winners of the World Cup, had to go through a qualifying tournament to seal their place in the 10-team event in England and Wales, starting 30 May. They are placed ninth on the ICC ODI Team Rankings, but in the recent series at home, ran England, the top-ranked side, close to draw the five-match ODI series 2-2.

They prompted England collapses, while also breaking records with their batting, led by the Chris Gayle. It marked a welcome turnaround for the team after losses to Bangladesh (home and away) and India (away).