With the warm-up matches and opening ceremonies having ended, local residents are among the many cricket fans world-wide preparing for a nail-biting cricket World Cup.

A check on the pulse of local residents showed that most favoured India winning the title while hosts West Indies, South Africa and Australia garnered far less support.

While a large majority admitted to being strong supporters of the West Indies they were shell-shocked by their woeful performance against India in their final warm-up game in Jamaica and consequently felt that their chances of mastering the strong Test nations were not nearly as good as they had originally thought a few weeks ago.

Surprisingly, only one person felt England would win, five-time Bermuda ICC campaigner Noel Gibbons backing the mother country while nobody sided with Pakistan or Sri Lanka.

With the international odds give the minnows little chance of winning a single game in their group (indicating their slim hopes lie only against Bangladesh), locals privately scoffed at any likelihood of success for Gus Logie’s team — several even agreeing with Michael Holding’s criticism questioning the involvement of such a number of ICC teams which devalued the competition.

Here are their views:

Winston Reid (ex-player and assistant national coach): “I must admit that I am 150 percent behind the West Indies but something tells me that India has the best chance of winning. But don’t discount England or New Zealand.”

Noel Gibbons: <$>“I think England will take it for some reason. Looking at their batting and overall team they will be tough. But Australia and teams like New Zealand and South Africa will be there to challenge.”

George (Friday) Bremar (ex-player):>“I pick India because they have a good all-round side, solid bats and top-rate bowlers. They will do well because Greg Chappell has moulded them into a great unit.”

Dexter Basden (player): “I have the West Indies down to win because we are playing at home and with the crowd behind us we can go the whole way. I know we didn’t do well in the warm-up games but I expect it to be different from here on.̶B>

Danika Gibbons (Social Club scorekeeper): <$>“I believe India will win it because of their strong batting line-up and their fine bowling. They also field well. They should come out on top.”

Jovanna Douglas (Cleveland scorekeeper): “South Africa will win. At least I hope so because I’ve always favoured them, I’ve always admired their professional approach to the game of cricket.R

Randell Woolridge (Cleveland official): <$>“I am an Australia fan but I don’t think they will win because of the many injuries they have had going into the competition. I pick India to go all the way and hope Bermuda can go as far as possible.”

George O’Brien (umpire): “I think the West Indies will win. It’s been a long time for them and they are now overdue. I think the time is ripe for them to do the unexpected.

Keith Lapsley (Willow Cuts official): “I think West Indies will win. They are going to be the first team to win it on home ground.”

Andre Manders (umpire and PHC pla):<$> “South Africa are the ones I favour to take it all, they have the better all-round team with bats from one to eleven. Australia will be strong challengers along with India.”

Phillip Burgess (Flatts player): “I pick India to win it all, they are in good form right now and really looked good in warm-up games. They have good young bowlers who have looked dangerous on the wickets in the Caribbean so far, they just have a good all-round team.”