Gordon confident of Windies triumph

Ken Gordon, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), has said that he is pleased with the disciplined and fighting attitude shown by West Indies in recent times, and attributed it to the work done by Brian Lara, the West Indies captain.

Gordon was speaking at the launch of the 2007 KFC Cup, the annual regional one-day competition, at the Queen's Park Oval. Gordon said he felt optimistic that the prediction he made in August 2005 that the hosts would win the 2007 World Cup would come true.

"I think where we (the Caribbean supporters) became estranged from the team was when we didn't think there was a fight in them," Gordon stated. "I was then just an onlooker like you. I think the fact that we are seeing fight today and we are seeing a level of discipline and effort which we were not seeing before is as important as the quality of performances we are seeing on the field."

He cited the team's performance during India's tour of the West Indies last year as the major turnaround in attitude for the squad. He also said the performances in the DLF Cup in Malaysia and the Champions Trophy in India were very encouraging and surpassed most people's expectations.

Gordon said one of his major achievements to date was the re-appointment of Brian Lara as captain. Lara took over from Shivnarine Chanderpaul before the home series against Zimbabwe last year.

"The first thing we had to do on the field was to settle the issue of captaincy," he said. "With all the controversy surrounding that I think we have settled that. I think we can say now with some confidence that we have a team that is strongly led. You are not going to agree with every decision but we have a team that is strongly led and being prepared."

He added that the four-match ODI series in India starting on January 21 would be vital to the World Cup preparations.

This year's KFC Cup, the final dress rehearsal before the World Cup will be played in at least eight countries across the region, starts on January 9. Defending champions Guyana, runners-up Barbados, Windward Islands, Leeward Islands, Jamaica and Trindad & Tobago will vie for the US$10,000 first prize. There will be five rounds of matches with each team playing each other once before the top four battle it out in the two semi-finals, on February 15 and 16. The final is scheduled for February 17 at the refurbished Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent, after which the ICC will take control of all stadia in the region.