Jason Holder: We will play it like a normal game

West Indies skipper Jason holder is keeping his fingers crossed ahead of their ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 group B tie against UAE , which they need to win to stay in contention for a knock-outs berth. While the weather seems promising for the morning match at Mclean Park in Napier, things will go awry for the Caribbean team if Cyclone Pam arrives earlier than expected. Holder is hoping that the weather remains good and said West Indies will look play their normal game and not bother too much about outside elements.

"Obviously we just need to win this game. It's a must-win game for us. Obviously if the weather plays, it's beyond our control, but we just need to control what we can control, and that's the game. If we can wrap it up as quickly as possible, that's a plus for us, but we still need to cover our bases and just go into the game as a normal game and not try to play the weather," Holder said in a press conference on the eve of the penultimate group match of the World Cup.

West Indies have been blowing hot and cold in the tournament and it is this inconsistency that has left them in a precarious position. Holder admitted that Windies have not been up to the mark in the tournament, but added that the team has put aside their disappointing performances and will focus on the game at hand.

"Well, ideally I think any team would love to have qualified by now, heading into the quarter-final stage, but it's not the case here for us. We've been a little up and down in the tournament, but having said that, I have full confidence in the guys to come up tomorrow and produce what is needed. Again, 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. But what is important is that we forget about the past, learn from it and just focus all of our energies into this game tomorrow," Holder said.

West Indies have received a big boost in the form of Chris Gayle, who the skipper said is fit for the game. When asked about the rest of the combination and if West Indies will go in with an all-pace attack considering UAE's weakness against short-pitched bowling as well as the Caribbean pacers' spirited showing against India, Holder said he was still undecided but he did mention that there will be a lot of aggression in the eleven that is picked.

"Obviously our bowlers did well in the last game. We'll start to look at the conditions here today. I haven't seen the conditions yet because this is the first time I'm coming to the grounds, so we'll just make an assessment there and just decide what we come up with tomorrow. But I think what is important is that whatever eleven we put on the field we just need to be aggressive. 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," Holder said.

For a side that mostly has amateur cricketers in its ranks, UAE has done well to challenge a few teams in this competition and West Indies cannot take the opposition lightly. When asked if West Indies' hopes of winning by a big margin might be impacted by the stubbornness of the Emirates team, Holder said the Caribbean team is not "thinking too far" ahead and will address the game "stage by stage".

"Obviously UAE is an international team in this tournament and we don't expect them to be a walkover. Having said that, we just need to control what we can. There's no point rushing the game and trying to force a result as quickly as possible. Obviously 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. 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," the skipper said.

About his World Cup experience as a player and captain, Holder said: "I've learnt a few things not only about myself but the game in general. It's been good for me. It's been a very good challenge, something that I was looking forward to from the time I was a youngster. But being thrown into it now has opened up my eyes in a lot of ways. I'm just pleased the way I've handled it. I think I've put up my hand on a few occasions and led from the front, which is ideal. It would be fitting just to just qualify tomorrow and just progress further into the tournament. But personally for me it's been good and it's been challenging, which I expected it to be, but having said that, it's nothing that I guess I didn't expect."