Cricket World Cup: West Indies team profile & player to watch

Punters looking to back the West Indies for World Cup glory have plenty of reasons to feel optimistic.

Top-order juggernaut Chris Gayle announced he will call time on his one-day international career after this summer's tournament and the explosive batsman will want to go out with a bang.

With 25 ODI centuries, he is undoubtedly the not-so-secret weapon in the Windies armoury but coach Floyd Reifer has a plethora of exciting options in both disciplines.

Andre Russell consolidated his reputation as a dangerman with bat and ball, scooping the Most Valuable Player award in this term's Indian Premier League after posting 510 runs and taking 11 wickets. He remains their greatest all-round threat.

At the crease Gayle is supplemented by wicketkeeper-batsman Shai Hope and youngster Shimron Hetmyer, while aggressive 22-year-old bowler Oshane Thomas has Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach as the perfect mentors.

Jason Holder's men possess an excellent blend of youth and experience and the tournament reverting to the round-robin format will aid the free and explosive cricket they love to play.

But, while their squad look well-poised to cause a stir in England, the statistics make for unpleasant reading.

The Windies have not won an ODI series since their 3-0 victory over Bangladesh in 2014, most recently failing to snap that streak with defeat in the final of a Tri-Series with Bangladesh and Ireland.

Since winning the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979 – both of which were played in England – they have struggled to recapture their reputation as the most feared opponents in world cricket.

Their biggest challenge lies in transferring their world-beating Twenty20 form to the ODI format.

They have won two of the last three World Twenty20s but failed to progress beyond the quarter-final phase of the last ODI edition, suffering a 143-run hammering by runners-up New Zealand.

Despite the dry streak, there have been some positive performances.

They held England to a 2-2 draw in this year's home ODI series, bowling out the World Cup favourites for a paltry 113 in St Lucia.

With only Sri Lanka and Afghanistan below them in the ODI rankings, the odds are stacked against them.

But with players of Russell and Gayle's calibre out to prove a point, a first World Cup in 40 years is not out of the question.

Player to watch
Andre Russell
Russell blasted an eye-watering 52 sixes to finish as Kolkata's top runscorer in this year's IPL, earning a recall to the West Indies squad in the process. He represents a triple threat with bat and ball and his athleticism in the field.

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