Lara rubbishes host nation's jinx

Montego Bay, Jamaica, Mar 9 (UNI) To the naysayers discounting the West Indies citing the poor record of the host nations in the World Cup, skipper Brian Lara has his two cents to offer.

''I'm confident we can win it, and I think the players are confident of their ability to perform at such a huge event,'' Lara told Cricinfo in an interview.

''We know that the host nations haven't had a great record when it comes to winning, but we know the whole West Indian experience is very unique and we're going to play on the fact that we're accustomed to it.

''Let's just say I'm confident that we are going to have a very good World Cup,'' the stylish southpaw said.

In the previous eight editions of cricket's showpiece event so far, only Sri Lanka have managed to lift the cup while playing co-hosts in 1996.

Meanwhile Lara refused to write off the world champions despite their recent form slump although he said the mighty Aussies were not invincible anymore.

''They are favourites, and understandably so, but in the one-day game that doesn't guarantee anything. They're not invincible, as we saw with England in the recent triangular series.

''I don't think they're guaranteed to get any further than the semi-finals, which is still two big, big matches away from winning the final, he added.

He, however, said England would be a real threat to other teams in the tournament.

On his future plans, Lara said his retirement from the longer version of the game was still some time away as the southpaw hinted prolonging his career to 40s.

''I'm only 37 -- a lot of players stretch their careers into their 40s, and I just think there's a lot of work to do to get West Indian cricket back on track,'' he said.

UNI