Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer

Utseya

THE INCONSISTENT form of former champions the West Indies, which was again on display on Friday, has given Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya reason to believe that his team could be a factor in Group D, which also includes minnows Ireland and powerhouse Pakistan.

The group, Utseya conceded, is a difficult one, but the history of the West Indies and Pakistan could be of benefit to his side.

"Of course, with Ireland, they have not played much of international cricket and we expect to do well against them. With the West Indies and Pakistan, they are not consistent, so if we can capitalise on that (we could do well)," Utseya said in response to a question about Zimbabwe's ability to get out of the group.

In addition to the inconsistent form of the more favoured teams in the group, Utseya also reasoned that the fact they may be taking Zimbabwe lightly could be a plus for his youthful team.

Like the country, the Zimbabwe cricket team has had a turbulent time - especially over the past five years. During that time, the team has lost the services of Grant and Andy Flower, Henry Olonga, Heath Streak and, in the last upheaval, the talented wicketkeeper/batsman Tatenda Taibu. All of these losses have served to weaken the team but, according to Utseya, that should not affect the team he now leads.

young side

"That has been for a while. It has been two years since (the last upheaval) and we have been trying to build this young side, so I don't think it will play a role (in how we perform). We are now used to the situation, so we will have to face the challenge," he said.

Preparations leading up to this World Cup have been good, said Utseya, who cited performances against defending champions Australia and minnows Bermuda as evidence.

"We have been working hard for the past two months before we came here. We played Bangladesh in a five-match series and did well in some games.

"We played Australia and managed to get a 190 and took some positives out of that game. We played Bermuda and I think we won quite convincingly and I think we are moving in the right direction," he said.

If they are to approach anything close to their best, then Utseya along with Stuart Matsikenyeri, Vusi Sibanda, Elton Chigumbura and Brendan Taylor will have to produce.