[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

The perpetual World Cup enigmas arrive in England on the cusp of what could prove to be a new dawn in fifty-over cricket. The tournament hasn't been kind to them: forty years have passed since the second of their two triumphs, without an appearance in the final since 1983 and no semi-final since 1996. It was a trial for the Windies to even make it to this edition of the World Cup, with their highly fortuitous Duckworth-Lewis victory over Scotland in the qualifiers coming courtesy of an absolute howler of an LBW decision just as the rain began; and having missed out on the 2017 Champions Trophy due to slipping out of the ICC top eight - the same handicap that forced them to go through World Cup qualifying - it'll be their first fifty-over tournament since 2015. On paper, it doesn't look inspiring: this decade has seen the West Indies become a T20 powerhouse at the expense of the game's other formats, and as a result they haven't won an ODI series since 2014, and have lost both home and away to Bangladesh in the last twelve months. But a ding-dong 2-2 series draw against a formidable England at the end of the winter showed which direction the islanders are heading in, and it's a promising one.

First and foremost, there's a changing of the guard underway. Neither Sunil Narine or Kieron Pollard made the cut for this tournament, and Chris Gayle has announced that it'll be his last hurrah before retirement (with a possibility of becoming the team's all-time leading World Cup run-scorer first; just 282 runs needed to surpass Brian Lara). The Dad's Army of white-ball cricket has found its new generation under the bright lights of the CPL, and they're represented in the form of pinch-hitter Shimron Hetmyer and pacemen Oshane Thomas and Sheldon Cottrell, the latter already a cult figure around the world for his drill-sergeant wicket celebrations. With Gayle and Evin Lewis up top, the Windies have one of the most destructive opening pairs in the game, and in the form of Shai Hope a top-class touch-player who can anchor an innings through the middle overs. Andre Russell just had the most explosive IPL in years, doling out some serious humpty to all comers, and if Dre Russ maintains form then there's no reason why he and Hetmyer shouldn't pile on valuable runs at the back end of an innings. The question will be whether their bowling is incisive enough on foreign soil, with all the added pressure of their first major tournament in years. If so, then there's a chance the West Indies can go far, and that alone should be enough to please nostalgic English fans of a certain age.

Highest World Cup total: 372-2 vs Zimbabwe (Canberra, 2015)
Lowest World Cup total: 93 vs Kenya (Pune, 1996)
Leading World Cup run-scorer: Brian Lara, 1225 runs
Leading World Cup wicket-taker: Courtney Walsh, 27 wickets


Tournament Schedule: Pakistan, Australia, South Africa, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan