Lara upbeat ahead of Australia clash

Brian Lara, the West Indies captain, says his team will not crumble when they face the defending champions Australia in the opening match of the World Cup Super Eights in Antigua on Tuesday.

Both teams have had confident starts to the tournament, winning all three opening games, and they set up a mouth-watering opening to the second stage. Lara intends to fight fire with fire when the two sides meet at the new Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

"I know it is a different class of opponents in the game on Tuesday, but we've played well against Australia in the recent past and we expect to do well if we play to our strengths," Lara said. West Indies beat Australia in the group phase of the Champions Trophy and also upstaged them in one match in the DLF Cup in Kuala Lumpur. Australia, though, did not stumble in the finals of both those tournaments.

However, Lara felt West Indies, buoyed by home support, were a better side now. "We are very consistent," he said. "We're building to the point where we want to get on to the bigger games, the Australians, the South Africans, the biggest teams in the tournament. So far we've performed really well. I'm proud of the guys."

The Australia captain Ricky Ponting was equally upbeat ahead of the clash. "The West Indies are a very dangerous team, they are on home soil, they should know these conditions very well and they have great crowd support from all over the Caribbean," Ponting said. "But it starts now. Every step you take in this tournament becomes more and more exciting."