What they could really do with is a good World Cup. The sort of campaign which sees them reach the expected Quarter-Final stage, and beyond, ideally with a series of tournament-defining performances from a hitherto unknown. Of course, with no coach, crumbling infrastructure, and civil war between the players and the board, this seems pretty unlikely.
What is their best XI?
Well, for starters, the best West Indian eleven is unlikely ever to take the field. In my opinion, it would contain both Shiv Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo, despite them both having been labelled as too slow-scoring for the fifty-over format, as well as Lendl Simmons and Sunil Narine, given that both are at their best when there's a white ball involved. With the best will in the world, it does not involve Chadwick Walton.
Lendl Simmons, Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Denesh Ramdin, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Jerome Taylor, Sunil Narine, Kemar Roach.
Who's their star player?
Only one player has ever hit more than five Twenty20 centuries: Chris Gayle. The most recent of his thirteen three-figure scores in that format came last month for the Highveld Lions in South Africa. Despite that being a very different format to ODI cricket, it does prove his match-turning potential, as well as his unique ability to make (very quick) runs against all kinds of bowling, on all kinds of wickets.
Who do they have to pick?
Question marks hang over Sunil Narine's bowling action, but it still makes sense to take him to the World Cup. He is one of the most effective white-ball bowlers in the world, capable of both taking wickets and restricting runs, and his extra bounce would be ideally suited to Australian pitches. Of course, it would come with the risk that he gets reported for chucking, but it's a risk that I'd be willing to take.
Left-field selection?
Fourteen wickets in fifteen List A games since 2010 might not sound like much, but Trinidad & Tobago's long-haired all-rounder Imran Khan has had an extremely impressive start to his first-class season. The West Indian selectors might take a punt on him, especially because he offers something as a lower-order batsman. He may be a spinner, and a lot is made of their impotence in Australia and New Zealand, but surely your best bowlers are your best bowlers, irrespective of conditions.
What are their prospects?
In a group that also contains Ireland, United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe, it would be deeply embarrassing for the West Indians to fall short of the knock-outs. Once they get there, they need only string together three wins, and who knows. In reality, though, they'll probably only scrape through their group in fourth place, then get wiped out in the Quarter-Finals.