West Indies captain Brian Lara watches from the dressing room as his team loses to Sri Lanka in their Cricket World Cup Super Eight match in Georgetown, Guyana, on Sunday. - Reuters photos GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):
West Indies captain Brian Lara is clutching on to hopes of a semi-final spot in Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 in spite of his side's dismal form in the Super Eight series and precarious position in the standings.
West Indies crashed to their third consecutive loss in the CWC second round, on Sunday, when Sri Lanka whipped them by 113 runs at the Providence Stadium, in Guyana.
With only two points and needing to make the top four to advance, West Indies are a low sixth in the eight-team standing they have played more games than all the other teams.
"I am an eternal optimist," Lara told reporters at Sunday's post-match press conference.
"We've got to pick up and fight because you never know what can happen," he added.
The beleaguered Windies, who have not tasted a CWC victory since leaving Jamaica where they won all three games in the first round, have three matches remaining.
They play next on Tuesday, April 10, against World No.1 South Africa in Grenada, before playing Bangladesh and England.
"We're going to have a couple of days off and re-assess the situation. We have to be sure we are fresh for the last three matches," Lara said.
"I know everyone's disappointed in the dressing room and in the Caribbean, but we've still got a job to do," he said.
Depend on results
Lara conceded that the Carib-bean side will now depend on results on the remaining Super Eights fixtures, and he is hoping that the outcome of matches in the next few weeks will keep the semi-final spots open - that Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and South Africa do not seal semi-final places.
"It still boils down to us beating South Africa, Bangladesh and England to give us a glimmer of hope. No permutations can help if we don't do that job," he added.
After veteran Sanath Jayasuriya lashed his 25th One-Day Interna-tional hundred (115) in Sri Lanka's 303 for five, Lara's side plunged to 190 all out in 44.3 overs to lose by 113 runs in front of over 12,000 fans.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (76) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (44) resisted in a 92-run fourth-wicket stand, but Sri Lanka kept control throughout and coasted to an easy win.
Lara also said they had been hurt by the hectic schedule in the past week-and-a-half, leaving the side jaded.
"It was tough, we've had four games in 10 days and you could feel some of the guys were a bit flat in the outfield."
Lara, who is retiring from ODI cricket after the World Cup, suggested the intense period of matches had affected his main pace bowler Daren Powell, commenting, "He seems to have dropped about 10 kilometres in the last few days."
WI fined
Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas (left) jokes with West Indies' Daren Powell following their Cricket World Cup Super Eight match in Georgetown, Guyana, on Sunday.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):
West Indies have been fined for a slow over-rate during their 113-run loss to Sri Lanka in their Cricket World Cup, Super Eight match Sunday.
The regional side was two overs short of the target at the scheduled finish of the Sri Lanka innings, match referee Jeff Crowe said.
In accordance with the ICC Code of Conduct regulations governing over-rate penalties for players, captain Brian Lara has been fined 20 per cent of his match fee while the other players have received 10 per cent fines.
Sri Lanka condemned West Indies to their third straight loss in the Super Eight by raising 303 for five off 50 overs and then dismissing the hosts for 190 in 44.3 overs.
