Despite having to play in the World Cup qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe next month, West Indies captain Jason Holder wants his team to win the tournament for a third time.

The West Indies, two-time World Cup winners, failed to automatically reach next year’s tournament in England and Wales after slipping outside the top eight in the world one-day international rankings.

This means that they now have to fight it out with cricket’s lesser names for one of the last two spots. Crucially, though, the West Indies will have their big players like Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels available to them.

Holder now says that it is time for his side to emulate their U19 and women’s teams by winning cricket’s global showpiece.

‘We’ve done well in T20 cricket, we’ve done well in women’s cricket and in U19 cricket. I think it’s about time we win another World Cup,’ said Holder.

‘We know what is at stake. It is an opportunity for us to grab some momentum heading into next year’s World Cup, get some games under our belt, just finalise some combinations, get things straightened, and hopefully turn our cricket in terms of the ODI format.

‘It is probably our weaker formats. No doubt, we have not been consistent, something that we have addressed, hopefully going forward we should see some good performances.

‘We’ve got a well-balanced side, quality side with experience. Hopefully, we could gel together and make things happen in this tournament,’ he added.

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