The West Indies were once the team everyone dreamed of beating in the World Cup. But after winning first two editions of the tournament and finishing the runners-up in the third, the Caribbeans never again looked a side that could lift the title for the third time.

[WC 2015 team profiles]

The Caribbeans will look to salvage some pride in the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. In 1992, they went off to a flying start when they beat Pakistan by 10 wickets in the opening match but narrowly missed the semifinals when they lost to Australia in a crucial round-robin game.

In the 2015 World Cup, West Indies are clubbed with India, Pakistan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ireland and the UAE in Pool B.

Here is the West Indies' schedule at WC 2015: Vs Ireland (Feb 16), Vs Pakistan (Feb 21), Vs Zimbabwe (Feb 24), Vs South Africa (Feb 27), Vs India (Mar 6), Vs UAE (Mar 15) []

WC 2015 squad: Jason Holder (c), Denesh Ramdin (wk), Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor.

West Indies' best performance: Champions in 1975 and 1979.

Semifinalists in 1996

WI's success percentage in WC: 60.31% (played 64, won 38, lost 25, no results 1)

Most matches as captain: Clive Lloyd 17 (Won 15, lost 2)

Highest team score: 360/4 vs Sri Lanka in 1987

Lowest team score: 93 vs Kenya in 1996

Most number of matches in WC for WI: Brian Lara (34)

WI's highest scorer in WC: Brian Lara (1225 runs in 34 matches at an average of 42.24, best 116)

Most number of wickets for WI in WC: Courtney Walsh (27 wickets in 17 matches, best 4 for 25)

Highest individual score by a West Indian in WC: Vivian Richards (181 vs Sri Lanka in 1987)

Best bowling figures by a West Indian in WC: WW Davis (7 for 51 vs Australia in 1983)

Biggest win for WI in WC: Vs Zimbabwe and Pakistan by 10 wickets in 1983 and 1992, respectively; vs the Netherlands by 215 runs in 2011

Narrowest win for WI in WC: Vs Pakistan by 1 wicket in 1975, vs South Africa by 3 runs in 2003

Biggest loss for WI in WC: Vs Pakistan by 10 wickets in 2011, vs Sri Lanka by 113 runs in 2007

Narrowest loss for WI in WC: Vs Pakistan and England by 1 wicket in 1987 and 2011, respectively; vs Australia by 5 runs in 1996

Looking back at the West Indies' performance in each of the World Cups since 1975:

1975: The West Indies won all their matches in this tournament, starting with a 9-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at Old Trafford. They narrowly beat Pakistan and thrashed Australia before defeating New Zealand by 5 wickets in the semifinals.

In the finals, the West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs to win the championship. Skipper Clive Lloyd scored 102 in the match.

1979: The West Indies remained unbeaten in this tournament as well. They won two out of three matches in the group stage against India and New Zealand (the match against Sri Lanka was abandoned) and beat Pakistan by 40 runs in the semifinals.

The final was a one-sided affair with the Caribbeans handing over hosts England a crushing defeat of 92 runs to win their second title. Vivian Richards slammed a magnificent 138 not out in this match.

The West Indies saw an unbelievable loss against Australia in 1996 edition

1983: The West Indians looked a formidable side in this edition also despite a loss to India in their first match by 34 runs. It was the first defeat of the Caribbeans in the history of the World Cup. But they won five consecutive matches after this loss and hammered Pakistan by 8 wickets in the semifinals to make their third consecutive final.

They looked favourites to make a hat-trick of World Cup titles when they shot out India for a paltry 183 in the finals. But Kapil's Devils had other thoughts and they won the day as the mighty Caribbeans fell short of the Indian total by 43 runs.

1987: Led by Viv Richards, the West Indians failed to cross the first round in a World Cup for the first time in this edition. They won three out of six matches in this tournament played in the sub-continent (twice against Sri Lanka and once against Pakistan).

However, gentle giant Courtney Walsh's refusal to run the last Pakistani batsman out even though he was well out of the crease got registered as one of the most gracious moments in the history of the tournament. The loss cost the Caribbeans a place in the semifinals.

1992: The West Indies team led by Richie Richardson had the best start in the tournament when they annihilated Pakistan by 10 wickets in their opening match in Melbourne. They beat Sri Lanka, India and Zimbabwe but lost to Australia in their crucial last game to miss out from the final four.

Pakistan went through and ended up as the champions.

1996: Led by Richardson again, the Caribbeans had an ordinary beginning in this edition played in the sub-continent. They even lost to debutants Kenya in Pune and advanced to the quarter finals as the fourth team from the group after Sri Lanka, Australia and India.

However, their best win of the tournament came in the quarter finals when they shocked South Africa, one of the favourites, by 19 runs in Karachi. Brian Lara's 111 made it the Caribbeans' day in the tournament.

But the two-time champions had an unbelievable loss to the Australians by just 5 runs in the semi-finals that stopped them from making the fourth World Cup finals. Chasing 208, the West Indies lost seven wickets for 29 runs from a well-placed 173 for 3.

1999: The Brian Lara-led West Indies failed to make the Super Six in this edition after they lost out to New Zealand in terms of net run rate despite having same number of points. The West Indies' wins came against lowly Bangladesh and Scotland, both playing in their maiden World Cups, and New Zealand while they lost to Australia and Pakistan.

2003: The Caribbeans went off to a good start in this edition with a 3-run win over hosts South Africa but could not maintain the momentum and ended fifth in the group of seven.

They lost to Sri Lanka and New Zealand closely and could not stop Kenya from advancing to the next round despite handing them a 142-run defeat. Carl Hooper led the side in this tournament.

2007: The West Indies played the hosts in this edition. They won all three matches in the group stage against Pakistan, Zimbabwe and debutants Ireland but could manage just one win (against Bangladesh) in the Super Eight stage out of seven matches, finishing sixth in the table.

2011: Led by Darren Sammy, the Caribbeans made the quarter-finals by winning against the Netherlands, Bangladesh and Ireland but were thrashed by Pakistan by 10 wickets in the quarter-finals in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

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