Cricket: Champions Trophy: Lara Sees Chance to Restore Pride

It seems strange to relate, but after months of moping and misery West Indies are not quite ready to go home.

Emboldened by their superb win over South Africa and encouraged by the congratulatory emails and phone calls from the hurricane-torn Caribbean, they are suddenly one game away from only their second major final since India shocked them and the world at Lord's in 1983.

And England - their tormentors throughout the four-Test series in July and August - await them in Saturday's final at The Oval.

"It's been a very long summer and we suffered a lot during the Test series against England," Brian Lara said on the eve of today's ICC Champions Trophy semi-final against Pakistan here. "We'd like to end on a high."

The cynics might argue that almost anything would represent a high after West Indies went down to their first Test-series whitewash by England in 76 years. But their one-day side is a different beast. Their multi-talented batsmen revel in the spontaneity of the format, and their bowling attack has been fortified by the experience of Merv Dillon, who was yesterday undergoing treatment for a shoulder niggle, and the nagging Corey Collymore.

"When we arrived here in June our most experienced bowler in terms of caps was Ravi Rampaul, who is 19 years old," said Lara. "That was a bit of a mistake. Now we have a lot more experience and a lot more leaders."

From a man who has spent the past few months tetchily dismissing questions about his captaincy, that suggested Lara is now in a slightly better mood. But experience has taught him not to get carried away. "Winning this tournament will appease a lot of people," he said. "But I hope it doesn't erase what happened against England, because we've got a lot of work to do."

Their first task is to see off a Pakistan side who have won seven of their 10 one-day internationals since Bob Woolmer took over as coach in June and are still buzzing after putting one over India at Edgbaston on Sunday.

Yet for both sides this semi-final is something of a step into the unknown. They have not met each other in any form of cricket since February 2002, and pitches are capricious here at the Rose Bowl, where only Andrew Flintoff, against Sri Lanka on Saturday, has reached three figures in a one-day game this season. "It's just not a good one-day wicket," said Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain.

If West Indies can win the toss and strike early, their trip may yet throw up a stirring finale. "We've had a distressing time with the hurricane in the West Indies and we've had a lot of emails and people calling to say how satisfied they are with the results," said Lara. "You have some smiling faces in Grenada and Jamaica, and that is uppermost in our minds."