TRINIDAD/TOBAGO: CRICKET - Cricket teams of Cricket World Cup group B arrive in Port of Spain

India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bermuda arrived in the capital of Trinidad Tobago in the West Indies for the start of the group B section of the cricket world cup. Teams from Group B for the Cricket World Cup arrived in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad on Tuesday (March 12). The pool has been called the "Group of Death" because Bangladesh are seen as the one team who could surprise the major sides Sri Lanka and India and reach the Super Eights. The fourth team in the group are genuine minnows Bermuda, coached by ex-West Indies batsman Gus Logie. They were bowled out for 45 against England in a warm-up match. Five Group B games will be played at the 25,000 capacity Queens Park Oval, Port-of-Spain. Sri Lanka, who begin their challenge on Thursday (March 15) against Bermuda, could not have asked for better conditions 11 years after beating Australia in the 1996 World Cup final in Lahore, Pakistan. Sanath Jayasuriya, who redefined the role of opening bat in 1996, could still be the most valuable one-day player in the world with his explosive left-hand batting and canny, flat leg-spin while Muttiah Muralitharan has the control to bowl a series of two-over spells without offering a loose ball. Captain Mahela Jayawardene is optimistic that his team will do well, but knows that even reaching the final will be a tough prospect. "It's a long way, away," he said. "Difficult to say that. I mean whoever the opposition we would love to be in the finals to start off with that would be our ultimate goal. But it doesn't matter what the opposition is, as long as we get there." For Bermuda's captain Irvine Romaine, he said the team are looking to enjoy just being at the World Cup "It's our first (World Cup) and we are enjoying it," he said. "I mean it's the first for our nation and everybody is proud of what we have done so far and we are just going to try and carry it on through right to the very end." After sweeping West Indies aside on Friday (March 9) in their final warm-up game, India will also be looking to do well, but captain Rahul Dravid said the team that is the most consistent will be the one to succeed. "No team will have fifteen players in their squad which will all be in form and doing very well," he said. "I am sure if you looked across the board and looked at the sixteen teams in this competition there will one or two issues, like I said, which every team will be looking to deal with. And hoping to get right as the tournament goes on. We've got a couple of issues in that department as well and we hope that as the tournament progresses people can come into form or you know be firing on all cylinders."

ITN Source | March 15, 2007

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