Tony Becca, Contributor

THE WEST Indies open their three-match one-day series against England today at Lord's and after their recent performances in the Test and one-day versions of the game hardly anyone, probably with the exception of their mothers and fathers, is willing to bet a cent on them winning a match let alone the series.

To me, however it is highly improbable, the West Indies have a good chance of winning not only one match but also of winning the series, and definitely so if all their players are fit.

With a batting line-up of Christopher Gayle and Devon Smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo and Runako Morton, plus Denesh Ramdin and Dwayne Smith, the West Indies can be brilliant, and if they are brilliant, as Samuels was while hitting that memorable six off left-arm pacer Ryan Sidebottom in the opening match of the Twenty20 series, they could be too hot for the England attack - even one that includes swing expert Sidebottom and spin master Monty Panesar.

Although they are without a genuine spin bowler and may once again have reason to regret that omission, with Fidel Edwards, Daren Powell, Ravi Rampaul, Bravo and Daren Sammy in their line-up, the West Indies also have a potentially dangerous attack - an attack that could make life difficult for the likes of Alastair Cooke, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and company.

The England batting, already without Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff, could be under pressure and especially so if Ian Bell has not recovered from his injury.

Good chance

Another reason why I believe the West Indies have a good chance is the memory of the West Indies' performance against England in their final match in the World Cup - a performance which saw England squeezing home with one wicket in hand and one delivery to spare after wicketkeeper/batsman Paul Nixon had hammered three boundaries to wide long-on off pacer Corey Collymore in the 48th over.

The real reason for my belief, however, is the wonderful spirit displayed by the team and the performance of some of the players during the two Twenty20 matches.

Led by Devon Smith, Chanderpaul and Samuels with the bat and then by Dwayne Smith with the ball, the West Indies won the first match by 15 runs after blasting their way to 208 for eight.

Then, after finding themselves in a good position to make it two out of two when Collingwood was stumped by Ramdin at 103 for five in the 14th over after Samuels had left the England captain stranded down the pitch, lost the second, mainly through a good innings from Owais Shah, with three deliveries to spare.

While a Twenty20 match is not a one-day match and certainly not a Test match, it is much better to win one and lose one than not to win at all and, on top of that, the one the West Indies lost was the one when they were not at full strength.

Time will tell

One never knows with this West Indies team and only time will tell. The players looked happy while playing those two matches; they seemed to have been enjoying themselves. Gayle, Devon Smith, Chanderpaul, and Samuels stroked the ball confidently and nicely, Rampaul in both matches and Powell in the second match bowled superbly and, but for one mistake during the second match, the fielding was almost perfect.

No one has to remind me, a Twenty20 match is not a one-day match, and it is certainly not a Test match. Fifty overs is not too long, however, and if the West Indies batsmen are at their best, if they can stroke the ball freely while concentrating for the added 30 overs they can beat England.

If their bowlers can emulate Rampaul and keep the ball up, if they can also emulate Powell and keep the ball up while bowling fast, if Edwards can be as devastating as he was during the Test series, if their fielders can match the brilliance of those two days at The Oval, the West Indies can defeat England and, particularly so, this England team which is short of an explosive batsman and an aggressive fast bowler like Flintoff.