By Colin Croft Former West Indies fast bowler

Lara's men will have to work terribly hard if they are to defend their crown

When West Indies were crowned Champions Trophy winners in 2004 many fans were hoping it would be the catalyst for a serious revival in their fortunes.

But instead of a return to the heady days of the 70s and 80s, West Indies have failed to take on the mantle.

The only thing consistent about them is that they are inconsistent.

A quick look at their one-day results show in the year immediately before they won the Champions Trophy, they had won 11 games, lost 10 and had six no-results.

In the two years since their triumph at The Oval, they have won 14, and lost 23, with two no-results.

On this form, Brian Lara's men will have to work terribly hard if they are to defend their crown - if they can come through a qualifying round.

It is not impossible for them to perform well again, but the effort will have to be increased four-fold.

Their last set of results are encouraging, if not exactly exhilarating. They beat India 4-1 at home then made it to the final of the tri-series in Malaysia, where they lost to world champions Australia.

West Indies need to gel, because in the last five years more than 50 players have been selected for one-day games and this cannot be good for a team looking for a set pattern.

In the recent past, there seemed to be no direction or plan to help a properly organised team evolve. The uncertainty and lack of a base must have affected the players, especially the younger ones over time.

Too many deliveries from Edwards and Taylor are either wasted or wides

The bowling needs teeth, even though Dwayne Smith has emerged as a decent medium-pacer recently.

I believe Chris Gayle, with his off-spin, could even be the West Indies' best bowler.

Dwayne Bravo has to pull his efforts to a higher level both as a batsman and a bowler, while Corey Collymore might be a fair bowler, but his fitness seldom lasts.

Fast bowlers Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor must try to emulate the wonderfully gifted Australian paceman Brett Lee.

Lee has learned, as Dennis Lillee did in his day, how to bowl but far too many deliveries from Edwards and Taylor are either wasted or simply wides.

They must do the simple things: bowl straight and fast!

The batting is missing two things badly: a steady opening pair and a robust middle order.

There is nothing more stable and productive than two opening batsmen who are accustomed to being at the crease at the start of an innings, even if they might be a bit slower.

I believe Daren Ganga, who showed his worth recently against India in both Tests and ODIs, should have been selected for Malaysia and the Champions Trophy.

Inconsistent teams seldom win tournaments.

And in this format, once a team loses a game in tournament proper, they find it very difficult to recover.

But if Lara and his team start well in the preliminary round and use the momentum they can spring a surprise in India, like they did in England two years ago.