Jamaica's West Indies cricketers Wavell Hinds (left) and Chris Gayle (right) make their way through the Nortman Manley International Airport yesterday, after assisting the regional team to cop its first success in the ICC Champions Trophy, by beating England in the final on Saturday. - PHOTO BY ANTHONY FOSTER

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC:

MEMBERS OF the West Indies team that clinched the ICC Champions Trophy in England on Saturday were the guests of honour at a brief welcome reception at the Grantley Adams International Airport yesterday.

The West Indies Cricket Board in association with the Barbados Cricket Association and team sponsors LNM Group hosted the welcome reception to greet the team members on their return from Britain.

Among the welcoming party was Teddy Griffith, president of the WICB, John Kuriyan, managing director of Caribbean Ispat, a member of the India-based LNM Group, Reginald Farley, the Barbados Minister of Sports, West Indies cricket legend Sir Garfield Sobers, as well as former WICB presidents, Rev. Wes Hall and Captain Peter Short.

West Indies captain Brian Lara used the occasion to thank each member of the team, but he sprung a surprise when he identified Chris Gayle as a possible future West Indies captain.

"In our team, he is definitely the top all-rounder and, in our success in the future, he has to play a part," Lara said.

"I am so happy that he has matured into someone at whom we should be looking as a future leader.

TUNNEL VISION

"We should not have tunnel vision. We should accept that everybody has faults, but he is actually somebody who can influence the guys and this team, maybe sometimes in a jovial manner, but he can become a great leader in the future."

West Indies manager Tony Howard acknowledged that the team had punched above its weight to win the Championship, but they clearly demonstrated that they cared about the people in the Caribbean, particularly recent victims of hurricanes that ravaged the region, to whom their performances were dedicated.

"When we left for the competition on August 29, not many people would have expected to welcome us back as victors," he said.

"Most people would have been holding their heads and hoping against hope that we would have come away with at least one victory, but this team has demonstrated to us that they are more than that in England. "They showed that they cared more about what was happening in Grenada and in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands than anything else. I think they used that sense of caring to demonstrate what West Indies cricket is about."

Barbados' Sports Minister, Reginald Farley, described the members of the team as warriors and emphasised the pride that Saturday's victory brought to many West Indies cricket fans.

He noted that the West Indies' victory officially launched the region's bid to not only successfully host the ICC World Cup 2007, but also for the team to win it.

BEST FACILITIES

"The Governments have long ago decided that they will spare no effort in ensuring that we had the best facilities, we had the best arrangements, and that we would be able to host a perfect World Cup," he said.

"But we did not see ourselves as just mere event planners. We were not putting on a good World Cup for others to come and run through and have fun.

"We urged then, and we are happy to see the initial fruits of that urging, that they would be within West Indies cricket a programme that would ensure that we would be on such a trajectory that would lead to victory for West Indies in the 2007 World Cup."

West Indies completed a dramatic two-wicket win over England in the Final on Saturday to win the ICC Champions Trophy.