West Indies captain Brian Lara believes England's Andrew Flintoff will be a major factor at the World Cup.Flintoff has three ODI centuries and 122 wickets and led his team to victory over Australia in the CB Series.
Windies legend Viv Richards played down England's chances, but Lara told Wisden Cricketer Magazine: "Flintoff brings everything to the party.
"On his day there are not many who can match up. He is the best all-rounder in the world at the moment."
Lara admitted the weight of expectation from the fervent West Indian crowd may prove to be a double-edged sword.
"Playing at home should help and we have guys on the verge of becoming world-class players, like [Jerome] Taylor, [Dwayne] Bravo and [Marlon] Samuels.
Teams will score in excess of 250 - grounds have fast outfields and they are not the biggest
Brian Lara
"A lot is expected of the experienced players - [Shiv] Chanderpaul, [Chris] Gayle, [Ramnaresh] Sarwan and myself - but we have to create more match-winners.
"In another sense it could be a disadvantage to be playing at home - do we have the strength of character to cope with the pressure?"
Although some way short of the standards of their halcyon days, the West Indies surprised many by winning the Champions Trophy in 2004 and reached the final again late last year, only to be eclipsed by Australia at the final hurdle.
"We beat South Africa in the semi-final, that is to our advantage and we have experienced one-day finals recently," Lara commented.
"Each major team has the game to do it - it is down to consistency and controlling your nerves."
Lara added that early concerns about the state of some newly renovated pitches were likely to prove unfounded.
"I think teams will score in excess of 250: the grounds have fast outfields and they are not the biggest.
"Australia are based in St Kitts and there could be records falling there. The wickets will be good."
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