Windies skipper embraces underdog tag

WEST INDIES captain Jason Holder has warned teams at the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup to underestimate his team at their own peril on the heels of a resurgence after the team recently hosted England.

Holder arrived in England for a brief county stint with Northamptonshire prior to the World Cup, and told Sportsmail whoever is the tournament favourite really has no bearing on his squad. "It doesn't matter to me. I just think we've got the players to beat them. I quite like the underdog tag. It feels good to prove people wrong," he said, referencing the Test series win over the English and a 2-2 One Day rubber. He made it clear they were a work-in-progress but that didn't curtail their ambitions at the competition, which begins May 30 in England and Wales.

"I'm very optimistic. I think we've got what it takes to win the World Cup. It's just a matter of the (kind of) cricket we play. We've potentially got match-winners on any given day and we can beat any side in the world. We're confident that once we formulate our plans and execute them, we'll be up there lifting that trophy at the very end," he continued.

The Windies endured an arduous road to the tournament, having to squeeze through the "pressurised" qualifiers, but with the likes of Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope and rejuvenated veterans like Chris Gayle and Darren Bravo back in the melee, Holder is backing his troops.

With the skipper himself now the top-ranked all-rounder in the world, he's also expecting much more of himself come next month. "Being the No. 1 all-rounder is something I've worked towards. But I've always said that being No 1. while the team is eight or nine doesn't quite fit the bill for me," said Holder.

The West Indies won the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979, and Holder is planning on emulating this, revealing he's been continuing his mentorship with the skipper who lifted those trophies at Lord's, Clive Lloyd.

"Growing up, you track history. Clive Lloyd lifted the two World Cups, and it's up to us to try to achieve something similar. He and I are very close. He's given me a lot of advice about how to go about my international experience. He always said to me that it took three years for him to understand how to play Test cricket. Having played Test cricket for a while, I realise what he meant," he added.

The 27 year-old Bajan knows they have their work cut out for them but ultimately, it's a challenge they're ready to accept. "Our boys are probably not the finished product but we're definitely on the right path to becoming pretty good West Indian players. If we stick together for the next two or three years, the sky's the limit. And, being in England, this was the last place we lifted the World Cup. Who knows, maybe there's a script to be written there," he concluded.