Steve Waugh credits West Indies as "most watchable team" at World Cup

The Australian, who captained his country to World Cup glory in 1999, believes they must be wary of Jason Holder's men when the two sides meet at Trent Bridge on Thursday

Former Australia captain Steve Waugh has branded West Indies "the most watchable team" at the World Cup and has warned the holders to be wary of Jason Holder's men when the two sides clash at Trent Bridge on Thursday.

Both sides come into the game off the back of seven-wicket victories, with Australia beating Afghanistan in Bristol and West Indies dismantling Pakistan at Trent Bridge.

But Waugh, who won the World Cup twice in 1987 and 1999, said Australia would face an unprecedented test against the Caribbean side whose batting he described as a "behemoth" while praising the attack as having "fast-bowling depth".

"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," said Waugh.

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

^{West Indies beat Pakistan at Trent Bridge in their opening game}

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

"For the first time in a long while they have fast-bowling depth vindicated by Friday's win against Pakistan without their finest in Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel."

However, while Waugh believes every side would want to avoid facing the World T20 holders in the knockout phase, he maintains their fielding still leaves a lot to be desired.

"Every side in this tournament will be wary of playing the Windies and I wouldn't want to face them in a knock-out match.

"They are the sort of team that, if they get on a roll and build some momentum, then they could win it all like the ICC Men's World T20 back in 2016.

"Their Achilles heel however will be their lack of mobility in the field and this is where Australia can influence the outcome."

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