Australia must be wary of West Indies threat - Steve Waugh

Special Column on ICC Cricket World Cup by Steve Waugh June 4 (CRICKETNMORE) - Speaking to Justin Langer ahead of this World Cup I reminded him of the players that had success in 1999 in England. It

It was a tricky first opponent who had nothing to lose and everything to gain while Australia were expected to dominate and dispose of Afghanistan with minimum fuss.

In particular, Dave Warner stood out with an innings that was less memorable but infinitely more significant than any innings he’d previously played for Australia.

For them to win the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, Warner needs to be a shining light and for him to spend quality time in the middle was exactly what he needed after a 12-month absence.

By no means did Australia play at their full potential and nor would they want to or expect to. World Cups are won by the teams that gather momentum and confidence as the tournament unfolds.

The West Indies will provide a more realistic gauge on how the team are tracking, for they possess a squad full of match winners that can dominate if they gain any sense of ascendency in a match.

They are the most watchable team in the tournament with a batting line-up that can kidnap any bowling attack with brute force.

No ground is big enough when this behemoth of a batting order clicks into overdrive but they also have a vulnerability against high-quality bowling as they tend to play one dimensional at times.

For the first time in a long while they have fast-bowling depth vindicated by Friday’s win against Pakistan without their finest in Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel.

Their Achilles heel however will be their lack of mobility in the field and this is where Australia can influence the outcome.

Every side in this tournament will be wary of playing the Windies and I wouldn’t want to face them in a knock-out match.

They are the sort of team that, if they get on a roll and build some momentum, then they could win it all like the ICC Men’s World T20 back in 2016.

All things considered, I think this stands as a very important game for both sides. After comfortable opening wins, both want to get an idea of where they really stand – and this will be the perfect sounding board.

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Special Column by Steve Waugh

Source - ICC