LARA - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
(Reuters):
World Cup hosts West Indies can book their place in the Super Eights stage if they beat Zimbabwe at Sabina Park today, but captain Brian Lara is taking nothing for granted.
?It is quite complicated after the results in the group so far. Zimbabwe and Ireland have shown that they can?t be taken lightly and Pakistan are already out. There are two very important games left for us,? Lara told reporters after practice yesterday.
West Indies beat Pakistan on the opening day, while Zimbabwe were held to a thrilling tie by Ireland.
Ireland?s win over Pakistan on Saturday put them on top of Group D and eliminated one of the pre-tournament favourites.
The pitch for that game looked green and provided plenty of help to the seam bowlers and Lara said it is vital his batsmen take care in the early stages.
Very difficult
?It is very difficult in the first hour and especially important not to lose wickets. The pitch for the Pakistan-Ireland game looked dicey and it was very difficult for batsmen in the first half hour,? added Lara.
Zimbabwe coach Kevin Curran is hoping his side have recovered from the shock of throwing away victory against Ireland and sees a glimmer of a chance against the hosts.
?The game is full of surprises, should we produce the goods on the day - and we certainly have to be on top of our game in all three departments to stand any realistic chance - we can maybe catch them a little bit off guard.
?They have got world class players, but there are times when they aren?t at their best and hopefully we can catch them on one of those days,? he said.
Tickets for WI matches
A limited number of ICC Cricket World Cup tickets are still available for West Indies matches to be played at Sabina Park today and Friday.
Delroy Taylor, project officer in the Commercial Department at ICC CWC Inc., confirmed that ?approximately 5,000 tickets are still available for today?s match between West Indies and Zimbabwe and another 7,000 for Friday?s match between the West Indies and Ireland.
?Some of these are premium tickets (Category 1 - over the bowler?s arm) which have been released back into the system by the sponsors and we want the Jamaicans to take advantage of these tickets and come out and support our team? noted Taylor.
?Unfortunately there are no party stand tickets available for either match.?
Cricket fans can make their purchases either at the Official ICC ticket centre at shops 51 & 52, Kingston Mall between 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. or at the Perimeter Box Offices (PBOs) located at the north and south entrances of Sabina Park.
?The PBOs will only sell tickets for the current day match? stated Roxanne Morris, commercial manager at the Jamaica Local Organising Committee.
?Additionally persons who would have bought tickets through the internet can collect these from the PBOs?.
The Perimeter Box Office opens to the public at 7:30 a.m.
In the opening match of the ICC CWC 2007 tournament on Tuesday, March 13, approximately 15,000 spectators watched the West Indies beat former champions Pakistan.
