There is Still Need for Improvement – Lara

Captain of the West Indies cricket team, Brian Lara has said that although his team performed creditably during the group stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup, there is still need for improvement as they prepare for the Super Eight segment.
“I am confident with the guys in the field, but we need to improve in our batting,” Mr. Lara said, while speaking to journalists at a post match press conference on March 23.
“It is now time for us to be more convincing. We need to take hold of the situation as we move into the second round,” he added.
Super Eight matches will begin on Tuesday, March 27 and will see the West Indies playing against defending champions Australia, at the recently constructed Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua.
Commenting on his team’s chances against Australia, Lara noted that the West Indies played well against Australia in the recent past and he is expecting that they would repeat the performance.
“We will be focusing on our game, our strengths and how we can limit our weaknesses to ensure that we will continue to advance throughout the tournament,” he noted.
Mr. Lara also said that his team was up for the challenge of playing on the new cricket ground in Antigua. “At the end of the day, we are in our sphere of the world and while it might be new, I think we are the ones who are going to adapt to it very quickly,” he explained.
He said that the selectors would be meeting to ensure that they pick the right team. “We will play the combination that we think will perform best against Australia,” he said.
The West Indies defeated Ireland in their final Group D match on March 23, advancing to the second round at the top of their group.
Bowling first, after Ireland had won the toss and decided to bat, the West Indies restricted the Irish to 183 for eight off 48 overs after rain had reduced the number of overs.
West Indies then reached their revised target of 190 runs for two wickets with 59 balls to spare. Opener and former captain, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who hit an unbeaten 102 runs off 111 balls was adjudged Man of the Match.
Meanwhile, stand-in captain of Ireland, Kyle McCallan, attributed his team’s defeat to a poor batting performance. “We were a little bit disappointed with how we batted in the middle overs and we were a few runs short of what we were looking for,” he said, adding that he did not consider losing to the West Indies a disgrace.
He said that Ireland was eagerly looking forward to the Super Eight matches. “You can only get better by playing better opposition, so we’re going to work very hard at our own game and let’s hope we can spring a surprise or two in the next couple of weeks,” he noted.
Ireland also advanced to the Super Eight after a tie against Zimbabwe and a victory over Pakistan and will play South Africa on April 3 at the Guyana National Stadium.