Legendary Windies cricketer Viv Richards heaped praise on Jason Holder and Co after they dismantled Pakistan by seven wickets in their ICC World Cup 2019 opener at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Friday.

Oshane Thomas and Jason Holder scalped four and three wickets respectively as Windies bundled out Pakistan for just 105. Led by Chris Gayle’s 33-ball half-century, Windies chased down the target in the 14th over to issue a warning to other teams in the competition.

“They (West Indies) have been very impressive and it was a marvellous performance from the team. The fans will be very happy with this performance,” Viv Richards told the official broadcasters. “We utilised all our assets well.”

“Having (Chris) Gayle back... he would look to go out with flying colours. The success of the old guys is inspiring the young players to play for Windies. I can see some light at the end of the tunnel for Windies cricket. All they need was an opportunity to show what they can do. There are some magnificent talented players in the team ” he added.

West Indies will now take on Australia in their second ground stage match on June 6 in Nottingham, while as for Pakistan, they will look to get their World Cup campaign back on track against hosts England on June 3 at the same venue.

First Published: May 31, 2019 19:14 IST