PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

NEWLY APPOINTED West Indies assistant coach, David Williams, says he is confident the regional side will give a good account of themselves at the Twenty/20 World Cup in SouthAfrica next week. Williams, along with Trinidadians Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul and Dwayne Bravo, left early on Sunday for St. Lucia to link up with the rest of the team in Barbados before flying off to South Africa.

"Although Twenty/20 cricket is a new thing, the guys have played it before and had some good performances on the tour of England," Williams said."They should have a certain level of confidence going into the tournament and we have to build on this. The World Cup is a pressure situation and it is not like playing an ordinary Twenty/20 match.

"We would have to be at the top of our game right from the start as we have a difficult first game."

The West Indies open their bid for honours against hosts South Africa on September 11 in Johannesburg in the curtain-raiser. Two days later, they play their second and final preliminary match against Bangladesh at the same venue.

"Everyone will be looking for a win in their opening game to put themselves under less pressure in their other preliminary match. South Africa are a dangerous team playing at home, but we should do well against them," Williams, the former West Indies wicketkeeper, said.

"It is important for the players to get into it as soon as possible and we have about three or four warm-up games before the tournament and this must count."

Williams admitted the innovative Twenty/20 had quickly gained traction.

"It is the new thing and is what the public and the investors want at the moment. People like going out for three hours or so and getting a result and this is what Twenty/20 is all about," said the 43-year-old who played 11 Tests and 36 one-day internationals.