Tony Becca, Contributing Editor

West Indies skipper, Brian Lara, addresses the media at a press conference at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium yesterday. The West Indies will take on Australia in the first ICC WI Cricket World Cup Super Eight match at the same venue today. - Photo by Dellmar

The race for the champions' title in cricket's showpiece heats up today at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in St. John's with the West Indies - the home team and the champions of 1975 and 1979 - taking on Australia, the defending champions and winners in 1987, 1999 and 2003, in the first match in the Super Eight stage of the World Cup.

With a perfect three-from-three record after defeating Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands and South Africa in the first round respectively, the West Indies, the number eight ranked one-day team in the world, and Australia, for a long, long time the number one ranked team, but now the number two, enter the round-robin Super Eight from which the top four will advance to the semi-finals.

On top of that, based on the victory margins against the teams in their respective groups, neither team has hardly even broken a sweat in clearing the first hurdle in their bid, one to regain the coveted trophy, the other to retain it.

Provide a hint

With each team playing the others but the one coming up with them from the same zone, with each team playing six matches, defeat today does not mean the end of the hunt for either team.

It could, however, provide an indication as to which one will eventually challenge for the title or who will win it.

Apart from the fact that victory could go a far way in ensuring that the winners move on, it would certainly hand the victors a boost for the other matches in the round, and probably more importantly, give them a psychological advantage should the two teams go on to meet in the semi-finals or in the final.

As the two teams prepare to open this stage of the contest, the question is who will win - who will come away victorious and take the lead in the hunt for one of the top four places.

Batting power

Apart from the fact that Australia have dominated the West Indies in recent years in both versions of the game, with the likes of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist at the top and followed by the likes of captain Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson as batsmen, with the likes of pacers Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait, Nathan Bracken, and Watson, off-spinner Symonds, and left-arm back-of-the-hand spin bowler Brad Hogg as bowlers, Australia boast an awesome batting line-up and a really good bowling attack.

On top of that, Australia, led by Clarke, Symonds and Ponting, are brilliant, consistently brilliant, in the field - on the ground, in the air, and in getting the ball to the wicketkeeper.

Although the odds favour Australia - also the favourites to go all the way and win the tournament - the West Indies cannot and should not be written off. They cannot and should not be written off, not only because in eight matches in the previous eight World Cup between the two teams, they, the West Indies, have won five while Australia have won only three, but also because of the presence of a few batsmen on the West Indies team who, if they fire, can be very, very dangerous.

Number one is captain Brian Lara, number two is Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and number three is Christopher Gayle, one of the hardest hitters of the ball in the world.

Amazing talent

On top of that, there is Ramnaresh Sarwan, there is Marlon Samuels, who, it appears, is ready to do justice to his amazing talent, there is Dwayne Bravo, and there is also Dwayne Smith, who, hopefully, is ready to deliver.

Although they bowled well, very well, in the opening match against Pakistan and fairly well against Zimbabwe and Ireland, the fear remains the West Indies bowling which should be in the hands of pacers Jerome Taylor and Daren Powell - who has been bowling well - preferably Corey Collymore instead of Ian Bradshaw, Bravo and Smith, Gayle and Samuels.

The other question mark is the West Indies fielding. If, however, they are as brilliant as they were against Pakistan, there will be no need to worry, and win or lose it should be a good match - probably even a close and exciting one.

Pitch test

It could all depend on the pitch - a new pitch that was used for a couple of practice games some months ago, a pitch that was found to be less than perfect, a pitch that will be played on for the first time since then.