Left: WI's paceman Jerome Taylor Right: Pakistan's Mohammad Sami

Tony Becca, Contributing Editor

The Cricket World Cup, playing for the first time in the Caribbean, bowls off today with the home team, the West Indies, taking on Pakistan in the newly renovated and impressive Sabina Park, and with the two teams being the big boys in Group D, with the two numbered among the past champions, and with the two among the favourites to win the Cup, it promises to be a thrilling and exciting curtain-raiser.

Winners of the Cup in 1975 and 1979, and finalists in 1983, the West Indies, despite failing to move out of the first round in the last two tournaments, have a tradition of greatness in the Cup, and winners in 1992 and finalists in 1999, Pakistan, despite failing to make it out of the first round last time, have produced one of the best teams in the history of the Cup.

On top of that, with batsmen like Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Rohan Kanhai - on one occasion, and Brian Lara on one side and the likes of Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad, Mushtaq Mo-hammed, and Rameez Raja on the other, with bowlers like Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Malcolm Marshall, Courtney Walsh and Curtley Ambrose on one side and the likes of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Abdul Qadir, Saqlain Mushtaq on the other, both teams have produced some of the best, some of the most exciting, and some of the most devastating batsmen and bowlers in the history of the game.

Special thanks

With the West Indies, thanks to Deryck Murray and last man Andy Roberts who shared an unbroken 10th-wicket partnership of 64, stepping out of the grave in Birmingham in 1975, with Pakistan, thanks to Qadir and Saleem Jaffar, doing likewise in a last-wicket stand in Lahore in 1987, both teams have also been involved in two of the most exciting matches in the Cup, an the odds are against either team winning by one wicket again and definitely so today, it promises to be a stirring and memorable contest between arguably the two most exciting batting teams in world cricket.

Batting for the West Indies will be, more than likely, Christopher Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul - two left-handers, and especially so the big, no nonsense Gayle, who loves to score at a run-a-ball and better, Lara - undoubtedly the best and probably most exciting batsman in the world, Ramnaresh Sarwan - a delicate stroke player and stroke maker, Marlon Samuels - on his day a majestic stroke player, Dwayne Bravo - a polished stroke player, and possibly Dwayne Smith and Kieron Pollard - two batsmen, who, if they get off, are ball beaters.

And batting for Pakistan will be the likes of Imran Nazir Mohammad Hafeez, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, and Shoaib Malik, plus the dangerous Shahid Afridi and Kamran Akmal.

While none of the teams are as brilliant as say Australia, England and New Zealand in the field, on their day they can be quite good, and particularly so the West Indies with Dwayne Smith and Bravo.

Regardless of how exciting the match may be, or promises to be, the question is this: who will win it and thus get off to a fine start in their bid to top the group?

Record

Left: Windies' Marlon Samuels Right: Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf

Based on their record against Pakistan in the World Cup - five for and two against, it should be the West Indies.

Based on their last outing, however, an outing which saw the West Indies travelling to Pakistan, playing four matches and losing three, while winning one, it should be Pakistan - and it should be for two more reasons.

One is tha they were warm-up matches, the West Indies lost easily to India on Friday, while Pakistan defeated South Africa easily, and two is tha the batting on both sides seems evenly matched - both in terms of the potential to explode as well as the tendency to collapse, or rather not to start at all, an they will be without Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, and Abdul Razzaq, Pakistan's bowling, expected to be led by pacers Umar Gul and Mohammad Sami and right-arm leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, looks a bit better than that of the West Indies.

The West Indies, for example, do not possess a genuine spin bowler.

In Jerome Taylor, however, they have a truly genuine fast bowler, in left-hander Ian Bradshaw, they possess a good and genuine swing bowler, and a lot will depend on them if the West Indies are to win the match.

It is difficult to read captain Lara and his selectors, but it is almost a safe bet that the West Indies will go in with at least seven batsmen and only three specialist bowlers, and that they will bat second if they win the toss.

One never knows, but it is also possible that the West Indies, despite the continued failure whenever they do so, will go in with eight batsmen and with only two specialist bowlers while depending on Bravo and Dwayne Smith, probably even Pollard, and then Gayle and Samuels to step up and deliver some tight, run-less overs.

Whatever the combination, it would be a fitting tribute to the West Indies teams who won the Cup in 1975 and 1979 if on the day they were remembered and serenaded, the West Indies, in their bid to win the Cup once again, get off to a winning start.

Captain Brian Lara (centre) leading allrounders Dwyane Smith (left) and Chris Gayle in an exercise session at Kensington Park on the eve of today's opening ICC Cricket World Cup opener at Sabina Park. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer