AFTER four years of expectation and six months of mayhem, Pakistan will open their World Cup campaign against the hosts of this year's competition.

Anybody of superstitious persuasion will remember that Pakistan comprehensively lost the first match of the triumphant 1992 campaign to the West Indies.

Although we didn't know it at the time, Pakistan's miserable debut was just the build up to the dramatic story of Imran Khan's cornered tigers. Far from satiating the appetite of Pakistan fans, that World Cup victory has made supporters even hungrier for a repeat performance.

Pakistan's attempts to recapture the crown have been mixed. In 1996, a strong and experienced team was sent home by a late onslaught by Ajay Jadeja and some rash batting, almost madness in the case of Aamir Sohail, under the lights of Bangalore.

The following tournament in England saw Pakistan reach their second final. Although Wasim Akram's team played some exhilarating cricket en route to Lord's, the final itself was one of the biggest anti-climaxes in sporting history. Pakistan were crushed by Australia's growing brilliance. Steve Waugh's team had risen to the occasion while Pakistan had shrivelled.

By 2003, Pakistan had one of the strongest combinations in international cricket and the nucleus of the team that should have performed better in the 1999 final. But Waqar's team turned out to be paper tigers, failing to qualify for the second round of the tournament and producing Pakistan's worst ever performance in World Cup history.

For everybody who vowed that the disaster in South Africa could never be repeated, the last six months will have been a shocking experience. Back in September of last year, when Pakistan were thrashing England in the one-day series, the resources available to Pakistan looked unmatchable. Yes, we had had the small incident with Darrell Hair, but Pakistan's one-day form was setting a trajectory to take the title in the Caribbean.

Since then, of course, the progress of Pakistan's World Cup campaign has been an unmitigated disaster, a disaster for which the Pakistan Cricket Board must take full responsibility. If the Pakistan players pull off a victory in this tournament then it will be no thanks to the PCB that is supposed to have been managing their preparations.

Yet despite all the nightmares of the last six months, it is a testament to the natural talent available to Pakistan cricket that we are still able to contemplate that Inzamam-ul Haq's team could still lift the trophy.

The key, however, might be that the pitches in the West Indies will suit Pakistan's game. Indeed, Pakistan's recent tours of the West Indies have been successful on the one-day front. The warm up matches certainly suggested that Pakistan might prosper in Caribbean conditions.

Sabina Park is a ground that was once loved by fast bowlers but in recent years has lost some of its pace and bounce. Whether that remains the case or not will be revealed until Tuesday. But Pakistan have the bowling resources to cope with either set of conditions.

So against all the odds, Pakistan take the field with an unexpected degree of confidence and an underdog status that will help them. They have nothing to fear from the West Indies, a team that they almost humiliated in the recent home series and whose own World Cup preparation has been a disaster.