Possibility of a run-fest

West Indies captain Jason Holder will hope to hold his side together and ease them to a win over Ireland at Nelson today. On the contrary, Ireland buoyed by their win against Bangladesh in a warm-up, will hope to cause the competitions first upset. Photo: Star File

Traditional giant-killers Ireland and under-pressure West Indies possess all the ingredients for a high-scoring clash in their opening World Cup match in Nelson on Monday.

Both sides feature quality batsmen but relatively inexperienced bowling line-ups for a match they have each targeted as ripe for getting immediate points on the board.

The West Indies and Ireland are leading contenders to fill the fourth quarter final spot along with South Africa, India and Pakistan from Pool B which also includes Zimbabwe and United Arab Emirates

Ireland are no strangers to knocking over teams from cricket's elite top eight. At the 2011 World Cup they pulled off an historic win over England and four years before that they stunned Pakistan.

In the lead up to this tournament they beat ninth-placed Bangladesh who sit just one spot behind the West Indies in the International Cricket Council's one-day international rankings.

New ball bowlers John Mooney and Max Sorensen snared three wickets each and Andy Balbirnie chimed in with an unbeaten 63 in the four-wicket win.

The West Indies meanwhile suffered a morale damaging nine-wicket loss to England last week when they were all out for 122 in 29.3 overs, and just managed to beat Scotland with three balls to spare.

The West Indies, winners of the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979, have a reputation for being able to play sublime cricket.

However, their glory days were some years ago and in recent times the quality performances have been few and far between.

They have only won two of their past 10 ODI series, beating Ireland in a one-off match and sweeping a three-match contest against Bangladesh

In Chris Gayle, playing in his fourth World Cup, they have a batsman who can turn a game in an over and along with Marlon Samuels, and Darren Sammy don't lack for muscle nor depth in the batting department.

But there is a lack of experience among their bowlers not helped by the absence of spinner Sunil Narine

Led by recently appointed skipper, the 23-year-old Jason Holder, the West Indies' last full series was a 4-1 loss to South Africa during which Proteas captain AB de Villiers exposed the bowling deficiencies with a world-record century off 31 balls.

Holder became the youngest-ever West Indies captain when he took over from Dwayne Bravo who along with Kieron Pollard was dropped after the players' strike during their India tour last year.

"Not having them would be a huge loss to any side. But it's beyond our control and we have to accept it and move on," Holder said, putting an optimistic spin on the Caribbean side's chances.

"We've been inconsistent and not played to the best of our abilities but we have some world-beaters in our team. It's all about putting it all together."

"Obviously, the bigger picture is for the team to do well in this World Cup and starting the World Cup well and carrying the momentum through."

Ireland will be banking on Kevin O'Brien to anchor their innings, recalling his World Cup record century off 50 deliveries in their shock win over England four years ago.

His brother Niall O'Brien, along with William Porterfield and Ed Joyce add batting depth, but there is a question mark over their bowling although Craig Young offers promise after his five for 46 on debut against Scotland five months ago.

Former England international and now Scotland coach Paul Collingwood believes the benefits Ireland have from several players performing in English county cricket will make them tough to beat.

"They're a well-drilled unit, and a lot of their players have county experience, so you know they are going to cause teams problems," he said.

5 Facts

•  West Indies look for a change of luck in New Zealand having lost their last 10 completed ODIs in Australia
• Since hitting 109 against Sri Lanka in June 2013, Chris Gayle has scored 234 runs in 17 ODI innings, at an average of 13.8. He has reached 50 once in this time
• Kemar Roach needs two wickets to reach 100 in ODIs. He would be the third fastest West Indian to the landmark if he achieves that feat in this game (in his 64th innings), after Curtly Ambrose and Ian Bishop (both 61 innings)
• Paul Stirling (70.1 per cent) had the highest boundary run percentage at the 2011 World Cup -- minimum 100 balls faced
• Gary Wilson (twice) is the only player to reach 50 more than once in the four previous ODIs between the two teams

TRIVIA

• Kemar Roach needs two wickets to reach 100 in ODIs and Dwayne Smith, if selected, will play his 100th ODI
• The last ODI hundred by an Ireland batsman was William Porterfield's 112 against England at Malahide in 2013