Jason Holder sounded a warning for West Indies' World Cup opponents ahead of their opening game against Pakistan on Friday, saying his team are playing with a smile on their faces.
The two-times world champions had to battle to reach the World Cup in England and Wales, reaching the tournament via a qualifying competition in Zimbabwe last year.
Since then they have found form, with batsmen Chris Gayle and Shai Hope particularly impressive, squaring a home series against top-ranked England 2-2 and then reaching the final of a tri-series in Ireland.
Holder was positive on the eve of the game at Trent Bridge, with his team boosted by a 91-run win over a formidable New Zealand side in a warm-up game in which they scored a mammoth 421 runs.
"One thing I like coming into this tournament is that every player is in a good frame of mind. Everybody is playing with a smile on their face, and I think that's how we play our best cricket," said Holder, captaining in his second World Cup.
"We're fearless, we enjoy what we're doing and we enjoy one another's company. I can safely say within the group we've got that."
Holder said Hope's consistent scoring was a major factor for the West Indies.
"Shai has been carrying some form for a long time in the limited-overs format, and he's really confident," said Holder of the 25-year-old batsman, who has hit five hundreds and four half-centuries in his past 16 ODI innings.
"I think he's worked out pretty much his method of scoring in this format. As I say, it's been very, very consistent, which as a group we've probably lacked in the recent past."
Holder played down the hype around his batting line-up, tipped to possibly break the 500-run barrier for the first time.
"Look, I don't want to sit here and try to pre-determine what's going to happen, but I just think in this situation we play a normal cricket game," said Holder, whose team were involved in a world-record 46 sixes in a match against England in Grenada.
Holder said his team would not take anyone for granted even though they are facing a Pakistan team who have lost their past 10 completed ODIs.
"We just want to be as professional as we possibly can, not take anything for granted. I don't think we're in a position to take anything for granted," said Holder.
Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at Spotify Camp Nou on October 25, 2026 in Barcelona, Spain. Getty Images
Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona looks on during the LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at Spotify Camp Nou on October 25, 2026 in Barcelona, Spain. Getty Images
