West Indies must be wary of losing focus

Match Facts

February 28, Delhi
Start time 2.30 pm (0900 GMT)

These two teams began their World Cup campaigns with contrasting defeats. Netherlands' loss against England can safely be bracketed in the 'heroic' category, but West Indies' insipid performance against South Africa was depressingly familiar. This contest may not be the mismatch that the two line-ups suggested it should be.

On the evidence of their opening game, West Indies are going to find themselves fighting it out for the fourth qualifying spot from Group B alongside England and Bangladesh. Therefore this match is one they can't afford to take lightly especially after Netherlands showed they have the ability to make the major sides stand up and take notice.

Netherlands will fancy making another mark because they'll face a thin West Indian attack stripped down even further by the absence of Dwayne Bravo. If Ryan ten Doeschate can lead a display of similar resilience as they showed against England, setting a decent target, or chasing one down, may not be out of reach for the Dutch.

However, like England's class with the bat eventually came through against Netherlands' weak bowling resources, the same should apply to West Indies. Even with the loss of Bravo snr there is considerable batting power available led by Chris Gayle followed by the hugely talented Darren Bravo. But the tournament hasn't had an upset yet and West Indies will have to be careful they don't become the first victims.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
Netherlands LLLWL
West Indies LLLLL

Alexei Kervezee isn't a man short of confidence. He has announced his ambition to play for England and his performances for Worcestershire suggest that isn't out of reach. He didn't quite get going against his possible future team-mates in Nagpur before top-edging a pull to depart for 16 off 25 balls but he remains one of Netherlands' key batsmen. The Dutch can't rely on ten Doeschate to score hundreds each time he bats and Kervezee has the advantage of opening the batting, the ideal position for a strokemaker on the subcontinent. He'll want to leave a mark sooner rather than later.

West Indies are short on wicket-taking bowlers but in Kemar Roach they have one of the fastest on show at the World Cup. He's quicker than anything Netherlands faced against England and will test their courage and skill. It is vital to West Indies that Roach can take regular wickets during the tournament because there isn't much strike power behind him. A decent haul in this match would boost his confidence ahead of bigger challenges to come.

The indications are that Netherlands will stick to the eleven that pushed England so close last week even though the bowling was exposed. It's the lack of wicket-takers that is the biggest problem for a number of Associates and the pressure will be ten Doeschate with ball as well as bat. Pieter Seelaar, the left-arm spinner, looked reasonably handy in the opening game.

Netherlands (probable) 1 Alexei Kervezee, 2 Wesley Barresi (wk), 3 Tom Cooper, 4 Ryan ten Doeschate, 5 Bas Zuiderent, 6 Tom de Grooth, 7 Peter Borren (capt), 8 Mudassar Bukhari, 9 Pieter Seelaar, 10 Bernard Loots, 11 Berend Westdijk

West Indies are going to be forced to make at least one change after Dwayne Bravo was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury. The suggestion is they will strengthen the spin-bowling department with a recall for left-armer Nikita Miller. The other option would be to bring in the pace of either Ravi Rampaul or Andre Russell.

West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Devon Smith, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Devon Thomas (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Sulieman Benn, 10 Nikita Miller, 11 Kemar Roach

Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, said he was surprised the pitch didn't slow up more against South Africa. There are also contrasting views on how important the dew factor will be - Peter Borren believes it will be a significant issue, but Darren Sammy is less bothered.

"It's pretty big sport in Holland, football. Some people were surprised that they made the final. It'll be nice if we could emulate that. It might be a bit more of a surprise if we did it."
Peter Borren thinks it will be a while until cricket is a major sport in Netherlands

"Everyone in the team is responsible for our performance. I'm one of the allrounders and I should put my hand up and put in a good performance on the field."
Darren Sammy knows he needs to lead from the front.