Hosts West Indies aim to secure Super Eight spot

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Mar 19 (Reuters) World Cup hosts West Indies can book their place in the Super Eights stage if they beat Zimbabwe at Sabina Park today but captain Brian Lara is taking nothing for granted.

''It is quite complicated after the results in the group so far.

Zimbabwe and Ireland have shown that they can't be taken lightly and Pakistan are already out. There are two very important games left for us,'' Lara told reporters after practice yesterday.

West Indies beat Pakistan on the opening day while Zimbabwe were held to a thrilling tie by Ireland.

Ireland's win over Pakistan on Saturday put them on top of Group D and eliminated one of the pre-tournament favourites.

The pitch for that game looked green and provided plenty of help to the seam bowlers and Lara said it is vital his batsmen take care in the early stages.

''It is very difficult in the first hour and especially important not to lose wickets. The pitch for the Pakistan-Ireland game looked dicey and it was very difficult for batsmen in the first half hour,'' added Lara.

Zimbabwe coach Kevin Curran is hoping his side have recovered from the shock of throwing away victory against Ireland and sees a glimmer of a chance against the hosts.

''The game is full of surprises, should we produce the goods on the day -- and we certainly have to be on top of our game in all three departments to stand any realistic chance - we can maybe catch them a little bit off guard,'' he told Reuters.

''They have got world class players but there are times when they aren't at their best and hopefully we can catch them on one of those days,'' he said.

REUTERS PDS PM0429