Dubai: After the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the fixture for 2019 World Cup, West Indies skipper Jason Holder has said that his side wants to not only feature in another Lord’s final but also lift the coveted trophy once again.
“We want to be there at Lord’s in the final to lift the trophy – we believe we are good enough to win it,” said the 26-year-old fast bowler, adding, “It is always great to play in a global event. As a young cricketer, you set your sights on this kind of event and want to do something special for the Windies fans on the world stage.”
The West Indies, who won the first two tournaments when they were staged in England in 1975 and 1979, will only visit Lord’s if they reach the final as they have no matches scheduled in London.
Holder, who has bagged 106 wickets in 77 ODIs he played for the Caribbean side till date, said, “The World Cup is extremely special for us. As players and as a team it means everything. We have a great history and we won the first two editions, so the aim is to make it three in 2019.
“We took the qualifiers route to get to this World Cup, but that was a blessing in disguise as it brought us closer as a team and we grew as a unit during that tournament. For the World Cup, we will enter as underdogs but we believe in each other and know who and what we are playing for.”
Meanwhile, Shai Hope, who will be looking forward to featuring in his maiden World Cup, said, “We have to make sure we play quality cricket and tick off the wins as best as we can. There is nothing that we can change (about the tournament format). We go out there and play the cricket, as long as we play and win, we will be in the semis.
“Me personally, it will be a great feeling (to win the World Cup). I’ve always wanted to win the World Cup, that is one of my biggest dreams. I’m sure I can also say that for the rest of the players in the team. There is a lot to look forward to.”
West Indies will play their opening two matches, which are at Trent Bridge in Nottingham against the 1992 world champions and reigning ICC Champions Trophy winners Pakistan on May 31, and against defending champions Australia on June 6.
West Indies will then head to Southampton, where they will play against South Africa and England on June 10 and June 1, respectively at Hampshire Bowl, while their fifth match in the 10-team single-league tournament will be against Bangladesh on June 17 at the County Ground in Taunton.
Old Trafford, once upon a time the second home to the legendary Clive Lloyd, will be their venue for the next two matches against New Zealand and India on June 22 and June 27, respectively.
Their penultimate match will be against Sri Lanka at The Riverside in Chester-le-Street on July 1, while the repeat of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier final against Afghanistan will take place on July 4 at Headingley, Leeds.
ANI