Every side will be wary of WI: Waugh

Steve Waugh has warned Australia that the West Indies’ array of stroke makers and aggressive bowlers will pose the first serious threat to the World Cup holders.

Former Australia captain Waugh was impressed with the no-nonsense way his country defeated minnows Afghanistan by seven wickets in their opening match on Saturday.

But the 54-year-old believes the West Indies will provide a much sterner test when they meet at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

“The West Indies will provide a more realistic gauge on how the team are tracking, for they possess a squad full of match-winners that can dominate if they gain any sense of ascendency in a match,” Waugh wrote in a column on the International Cricket Council’s media page.

“They are the most watchable team in the tournament with a batting line-up that can kidnap any bowling attack with brute force.

“No ground is big enough when this behemoth of a batting order clicks into overdrive but they also have a vulnerability against high-quality bowling as they tend to play one dimensional at times.”