Cricket World Cup: No room for no result for storm-watch West Indies

Napier: The West Indies will be looking to dispose of the United Arab Emirates in swift fashion on Sunday, captain Jason Holder said as a looming storm threatened their World Cup play-off chances.

The West Indies must beat the amateurs to make the quarter-finals, but it will be an early flight home if they lose, or if approaching Cyclone Pam forces the game to be abandoned.

"It`s a must-win game for us. Obviously if the weather plays a part, it`s beyond our control, but we just need to control what we can control, and that`s the game," Holder said Saturday.

"If we can wrap it up as quickly as possible, that`s a plus for us."

The West Indies go into the match two points behind Pakistan and Ireland with all three sides in contention for the remaining two quarter-final spots from Pool B behind India and South Africa.

A win to the West Indies should put them into the play offs with a superior run rate over the loser of the Pakistan-Ireland match to be played later Sunday in Adelaide.

Holder was also not shy in outlining their plans for UAE who struggled against a barrage of short deliveries when they faced South Africa`s battery of quicks.

"Obviously they seem to not like the aggressive stuff, so it`s in our nature to be aggressive and we just need to be aggressive and play aggressive cricket."

With rain forecast late in the day in Napier, the West Indies cannot afford a washout as the one point for an abandoned game will not be enough to get them through.

"I can`t play the weather. If it comes, it comes. If it doesn`t, we just need to do what`s required of us," Holder said, emphasising the need to have the game sewn up before the rain arrives, but to do so without taking unnecessary risks.

"It`s ideal that we probably wrap it up as quickly as possible, but we still have to play the cricket, and to win it on merit is the best way to do it," he said.

"I don`t think we should think too far ahead but we should take it stage by stage and just try to come out with a win, which is most important."

It has been an up and down tournament for the West Indies who started with a shock loss to Ireland and were beaten by India and South Africa.

But they picked up comprehensive wins against Pakistan and Zimbabwe, when Chris Gayle burst into life after a series of low scores to smack a tournament record 215.

Holder, a surprise choice to captain the side, said that before the World Cup, he did not expect to be in a fight for survival come their final pool game.

"I think any team would love to have qualified by now, heading into the quarter-finals stage," he said.

"I can`t really look back and say, well, we`ve been horrible here, we`ve been horrible there. It`s cricket. It`s the way the game goes. You win some, you lose some.

"The better we do in this game tomorrow, the better the chance we stand of qualifying into the quarter-finals."