World Cup will kickstart our cricket - Lara

West Indies cricket is currently in finer fettle than it has been for some time but Brian Lara believes that next year's World Cup will make things even better, both on and off the field. "The World Cup is a watershed moment in our cricket," Lara told reporters in Karachi. "Not only for the practical side of it on the field, but financially and administratively we think the World Cup is going to kick start something new, something very much needed."

The West Indies will host the ninth World Cup for 16 teams from March 13 to April 28 next year. The countdown begins next week with 100 days to go for the first-ever World Cup in the region. The event is expected to attract 2.2 billion television viewers around the world and about 100,000 visitors are expected to travel to the Caribbean for the tournament.

"We are looking forward to the World Cup and we are looking to the end result of it and it is going to be very very promising for us on the field as well as off it," said Lara. "The corporate world in the Caribbean is not as great as in India or the subcontinent but we have been depending a lot on the revenues coming out of the World Cup to move us forward."

The West Indies won the inaugural World Cup held in England in 1975, went on to win the next one too in 1979, again in England, and finished runners-up to India in the third edition held in the same country four years later. They have failed to reach the semi-finals of the last two World Cups - in England in 1999 and in the South Africa four years later.

But under Lara, and in home conditions, they are one of the favourites for the tournament. Their recent form is solid, having beaten India 4-1 at home before finishing runners-up twice to Australia, first in a tri-series in Malaysia in October and then the Champions Trophy final in India earlier this month. They have also won a big tournament in recent years - the 2004 Champions Trophy in England.

Lara said he was happy with the team's progress. "We have played very good one-day cricket over the last couple of years. We have a lot of one-day cricket planned actually with five one-dayers in Pakistan and we come back to India in January. Of course there are periods when we have collapsed, especially our batting. Host countries haven't done too well in World Cups but I am quite happy with our preparations."