West Indies Ian Bradshaw lays on the pitch during their match against Zimbabwe in the ICC Champions Trophy. - reuters

mumbai, india (cmc)

West Indies fast bowler Ian Bradshaw is confident that the West Indies can top Group A in the ICC Champions Trophy despite the nine-wicket loss against Sri Lanka in the qualifying round.

"We believe that we have the talent within this side not only to win the next game against Australia but to finish at the top of our group and progress to the semi-finals," Bradshaw said after the team's practice session at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai yesterday.

The West Indies, reigning ICC Champions Trophy winners, face reigning World Cup champions, Australia, tomorrow morning in Mumbai.

CONFIDENT

"We are confident, we played against them (Australia) last month (in Malaysia) and we had positions where we felt we were in some sort of dominance over them," Bradshaw recalled of his team's performance in the DLF Cup Tri Series in September.

"Obviously Australia is a champion team, and they will always fight back, what we must make sure is that we execute our plans as well as possible," Bradshaw told reporters after the morning work out.

"When you are playing against a champion team you must be on top of your game to win," Bradshaw added.

High level of discipline

The regional side will also play against hosts India and England in Group A of the Champions Trophy. They reached the main phase after finishing second behind Sri Lanka in the qualifying round. They were skittled out for just 80 against the Sri Lankans in their final qualifier on Sunday, and lost by nine wickets.

Known for his nagging accuracy, Bradshaw said that the Windies bowlers must maintain a high level of discipline for them to prevail over the world champions.

"As bowlers, we have to be as disciplined as possible, try and maintain line and length, and try our best to put the batters under pressure," the left armer said.