West Indies are the team that most have tipped as the most likely to trip up in the pool stages and miss out on the quarterfinals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Ireland are the team that most have tipped to trip one of the biggies up and qualify for the last eight. So, what better contest than West Indies vs Ireland in Nelson on Monday.
All the big games of the early stages of this World Cup is now done and dusted and not too surprisingly the usual suspects have come away as winners.
Australia were dominant against England, so too New Zealand in their match against Sri Lanka. South Africa topped Zimbabwe, while India were too strong for Pakistan.
Now it is down to the real deal of the group stages, the part of the World Cup that most have claimed to be too boring.
West Indies and Ireland will look to debunk that theory with a humdinger, with the former in particular looking for some sort of form and momentum to just get into their groove, a groove they haven't been able to find for some time now.
Without Sunil Narine, without Dwayne Bravo, without Kieron Pollard, WI, who still have a whole host of match-winners, need to find a way to get back into for in this World Cup, or their dream could end pretty quickly.
"The spirit has been good so far, as you can see the guys all have smiles on their faces, we are enjoying the sunshine here in Nelson and we are enjoying each others' company," said WI wicketkeeper/batsman Denesh Ramdin, who played a brilliant innings in his side's last warm-up game against Scotland.
"Looking ahead, I just think we need to get some partnerships at the top of the order and get things going. All the guys have been putting in a lot of hard work we are very excited as well to get it started, and try and get another win under our belts as quickly as possible, and get this tournament kick started."
Ireland have previous when it comes to toppling the big teams, having beaten Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup and England in the 2011 CWC, and the men in green, who are coached by former WI all-rounder Phil Simmons, will definitely hope to have the luck of the Irish when it comes to their game against West Indies.
"They've got a wealth of talent back in the West Indies, and no matter what West Indies side turns up, they're going to be good opposition," said Ireland skipper William Porterfield. "Whatever happens back there in terms of who gets in their squad, I don't really care to be honest.
"I'm happy enough with our preparations and how we've gone about things, and whichever 11 takes the field for them, then that's who we've got to beat."
Where to Watch Live
The ICC World Cup 2015 match is scheduled for a 11 am local time (3.30 am IST, 10 pm GMT, 5 pm ET) start with live coverage in India on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD1, Star Sports HD3. India viewers can also catch the match via free live streaming online on Starsports.com or by the paid option on Starsports Live Pro option.
Viewers in Australia can catch the game on Channel 9 and Fox Sports, while the option to live stream the game is on Cricket Australia Live or the Cricket Australia Live App or Foxtel. Viewers in the UK and Ireland can watch the big game live on Sky Sports 2 or via live streaming on Sky Go or Watch Sky Sports.
The game can be watched live by viewers in the US on ESPN,while the action can also be live streamed on Watch ESPN.
