West Indies look up to youth

But captain Jimmy Adams believes the young men are ready to step into the shoes of the great West Indies cricketers, who dominated World cricket in the 1970’s and 80’s.

“These young men have done pretty well in the home season. They may not have played as much cricket as some of the players they have replaced, but they are a little fresher and the expectations are quite high while we are here,” Adams told journalists here a day after arriving here.

Adams, Brian Lara, Sherwin Campbell and the recalled wicket-keeper Courtney Browne are the only experienced players in the 14-man West Indies squad.

Guyana opener Azeelmul Haniff, Jamaican all-rounder Marlon Samuels and Sylvester Joseph are batsmen making their international debut in the ICC knock-out trophy. In the absence of their most consistent batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul in this tournament, these youngsters are keen to impress the selectors ahead of their Test tour of Australia later in the year.

India and Pakistan are keen to put behind them the bribery scandals which have cast doubts on the sport back in their respective countries.

Defending champions South Africa and England expect to continue their winning streak from recent competitions during the two-week tournament which involves the 10 Test-playing Nations and hosts Kenya.