Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd

BRIDGETOWN, CMC

Clive Lloyd, who led West Indies to their two Cricket World Cup triumphs in 1975 and 1979, says the Caribbean needs to prove to the world it can successfully host the mega event.

The Caribbean will play host to the event for the first time in its history when the tournament bowls off from March 13 to April 28.

"It has got to be the greatest spectacle we would have had here for many a year," Lloyd told CMC Sports.

"It is a situation where we have got to be proud that we can host something of this nature, it is the third largest event in the world, there will be two billion people watching, and they will be looking for all the little nasty things.

"They are not going to be looking at too many of the great things but let's hope we can surprise them and show that we can perform and put on a great spectacle."

He added: "I hope it will be something that will be memorable and [show the world] although we are small islands or countries, we can put on large events."

Sixteen teams will do battle across eight countries for cricket's most prestigious prize when the tournament gets under way after the official ceremony on March 11 at the newly constructed Greenfield Multi-Purpose Complex in Trelawny, north-western Jamaica.

Teams have begun arriving for the tournament with the bulk expected later this week.