LONDON, Oct 5: The West Indies will have more than damaged pride to play for when they open the defence of their ICC Champions Trophy with an unwanted qualifying match against Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

The two-times world champions have been in decline since the mid-1990s and Brian Lara's side will need to show a marked improvement in form to compete for further honours as they build up for the hosting of next year's World Cup in March-April.

“We are here to win and gain confidence against every single opponent and from every single game,” the West Indies skipper told reporters, adding that he was disappointed his team were required to qualify.

West Indies claimed a dramatic victory over hosts England in the 2004 final but failed to clinch one of the automatic main round berths for this year's tournament as only the top six in the one-day rankings on April 1 this year made the cut.

Subsequently, Sri Lanka and West Indies, ranked seventh and eighth at that point, were forced to compete in a four-team qualifying pool with Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

The top two qualifiers will join either a group containing world champions Australia, England and India or one comprising Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand.

The other members of the 14-man squad are looking for Lara to lead a revival of fortunes, hoping to cash in on the experience of one of the finest batsmen ever to play the sport.

Although the 37-year-old has cut back his workload in the shorter form of the game, he is keen to delight his passionate fans at the World Cup as he approaches the end of a glorious career.

Lara has been able to make a positive impact since taking over from Shivnarine Chanderpaul for a third term as skipper in April, after his predecessor managed just one Test win in 14 matches and two in 16 one-dayers.

Younger players now talk about the value of consistency and teamwork over flair to strengthen the team for the World Cup.

“It is not how the rest of the world wants West Indies to play,” explosive batsman Chris Gayle said. “What matters is how we play our cricket, the mindset with which we go into the game.”

Since Lara took over, West Indies routed Zimbabwe 5-0 and a strong India side 4-1 before edging out the latter to reach the final of last month's tri-series in Malaysia.

However, Australian bowlers exposed their brittle batting order to dismiss them for 113 on the way to a 127-run victory.

“One of the keys for us moving forward is the ability to play critical moments in matches well,” coach Bennett King said.

“The more games we play against some of the better sides the better for us.”—Reuters