It was, in batting order: Greenidge, Haynes, Richardson, Gomes, Richards, Lloyd (capt), Dujon, Marshall, Holding, Garner and Walsh. Apart from Richardson and Walsh, then at the start of their careers, all the others were at the peak of their powers.Five now have over 5,000 Test runs against their names in Wisden (the solid left-hander Larry Gomes is the exception with 3,171), the fast bowlers all have over 240 wickets (Marshall the best with 376) and Dujon was unarguably the finest wicket-keeper/batsman of his time.As one by one these stalwarts left the scene the West Indies found it increasingly difficult to keep their record intact, doing so principally on the strength of the spirit and the habit of winning they had inherited.Richardson and Walsh remain from the golden era and Curtly Ambrose, Brian Lara and Jimmy Adams would all fit easily into the elite company of the ’80s. But the question as they take the field tomorrow morning will be: “Can they win?” Not, as it was for so long, simply: “By how much?”Only rarely does a sporting team come along deserving of that confidence.THE WEST INDIES 1980-1995Opponents P W L D Win by Win by Win ininns 10wks 3 daysEngland 38 24 4 10 7 3 2Australia 28 14 5 9 3 3 1India 22 10 2 10 2 0 0Pakistan 16 6 3 7 1 2 3New Zealand 9 4 1 4 1 3 0Sri Lanka 1 0 0 1 0 0 0South Africa 1 1 0 0 0 0 0Home 48 28 4 16 5 8 3Away 67 31 11 25 9 3 3OVERALL 115 59 15 41 14 11 6Totals over 500 – For: 11 Against: 5Totals under 150 – For: 6 Against: 24Double centuries – For: 7 Against: 2Centuries – For: 93 Against: 64Ten wickets in match – For: 10 Against: 11. The Faroe Islands are on a win bonus of just pounds 500 a man to wreck Scotland’s European Championship dream.

Craig Brown’s under-strength side face the part-timers tonight in an important Group Eight tie in Toftir, and three points are essential if the Scots are to stay on course for England next summer. “Everything is possible in football,” Allan Simonsen, the Faroes’ coach and former Charlton player, said “It will be a sensation if we can win or even get a point. Sometimes in this game there are sensations, though, and I hope there will be one here.”
Brown’s major fitness worry is the Motherwell defender Brian Martin, who has a calf injury, although the coach has already lost no fewer than 14 players with fitness problems.”We are entering this game with positive thoughts,” Brown said. “An acceptable result is a victory, but we want a good performance to go with it I’m not contemplating a shock, but I never do. If you think about something too much, it can happen.”Mike Smith sends his Welsh team out for revenge against Georgia tonight knowing he needs a victory as much as his side do.

Following their 5-0 defeat at the hands of the talented Georgians in Tbilisi in November, they have shown vastly improved displays against Bulgaria and Germany.”What happened in Tbilisi was hard to cope with – for all of us. Everything seemed to be wrong while everything they touched went in, but they outplayed us and we had no excuses,” the beleaguered manager admitted. “We’ve looked at the nightmare video a few times and we’re ready for it tonight.”Swansea’s John Cornforth has his first start, while Adrian Williams of Reading is paired with Portsmouth’s Kit Symons in the absence through injury of Gary Speed and Chris Coleman.Bryan Hamilton, the Northern Ireland manager, has delayed naming his team for tonight’s Group Six qualifier against Latvia in Belfast until today. Manchester United’s defender Pat McGibbon and the Tottenham winger Gerard McMahon are poised for call-ups, after impressing on the recent tour of Canada.The club ground at Cardiff Arms Park staged its first football match last night as Wales beat Georgia 5-1 in a European Under-21 Championship qualifier. Bristol Rovers’ Gareth Taylor and Liverpool’s Lee Jones scored two apiece.

England’s “reserve” Under-21 side opened their defence of the Toulon tournament with a 2-0 loss to Brazil – the senior Under-21 side face Latvia in a European Under-21 Championship qualifier at Burnley tonight.. FOOTBALL

BY GLENN MOORE
It is not often that Terry Venables envies Dietrich Weise, the coach of Liechtenstein, but this week he can appreciate his counterpart’s fortune – and not just in living in a country where taxes are as low as expectations.After most England games the team head straight back to their clubs. Most of them are not seen again by the national coach until the next squad meets, often a month or more later. In Liechtenstein, who gained their first ever point, against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday, the players meet every Monday night to train with the national coach.Of course they are part-timers, but at least Venables has his squad for a fortnight this time, and he yesterday took advantage by holding a lengthy debriefing on Saturday’s disap- pointing 2-1 win over Japan at Wembley.All squad members, from the young and newly capped, to the experienced, took part and Venables is hoping for a better performance against Sweden at Elland Road, Leeds, tomorrow, as a result “We are looking forward to it. I know we can play a lot better,” Venables said.Alan Shearer, who had looked jaded at Wembley, said: “I just put it down to a bad day We did not play as well as we would have liked.

It has been a long and sometimes tiring season, but we have had two weeks’ rest so that is not an excuse.”Shearer also noted that “no one seems to have mentioned that we won the game”, but Venables said: “I expected the criticism but I can deal with it. I am only interested in next summer, I have got to bear all the hysteria in between. I have already got grey hair and bin-bags under the eyes, so it won’t affect me. I agree with a lot of it.”His real concerns at present are Gary Pallister, whose rib injury stubbornly refuses to heal, and Darren Anderton, who tweaked a knee on Saturday.. Gillian Coultard, the former England captain, scored two goals and played a key role in a third to earn her country a 3-2 victory over Canada in their first match in the women’s World Cup in Helsingborg, Sweden last night.