TAUNTON, England — Despite meekly surrendering to an eight-wicket defeat to tournament favourites and hosts England, West Indies players remain positive they can reach the semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

“[I am] very confident West Indies can qualify because it happens in these competitions where you go down but it’s about how you pick up yourself for the next game. All the guys are in good spirits and we’re just looking ahead to the next game,” said 22-year-old left-hand batsman Shimron Hetmyer after the loss on Friday at Hampshire Bowl.

“[It] was an off day. it happens to the best of teams, so it’s all about putting your best foot forward and take it a game at a time. We just need to be positive and play the fearless cricket that everybody knows we can play,” Hetmyer stressed.

The 10 teams in the tournament will play against each other in a single-league format, with the top four sides qualifying for the semi-finals.

West Indies and Bangladesh, who face each other today at the County Ground, both have three points from four games.

Nicholas Pooran, the stylish left-hander, believes the Caribbean team has what it takes to get on a winning run for their remaining five games.

“We’re not really worried as a team, [because] at the end of the day once we go and play good cricket we will be victorious. The team is gelling really well and we can’t win every single cricket game. We need a victory [against Bangladesh], so we need to come hard,” Pooran, 23, urged.

Jason Holder, the 27-year-old West Indies skipper, also held a positive tone when he spoke to the media after the loss to England.

“We’d be very foolish not to be confident. There’s still a lot of cricket to be played in this tournament. We’ve only played four games and there’s [a] hell [of] a lot of cricket left to be played.

“We’ve shown glimpses of what we can produce here in this tournament so far, and also in the recent past. For us it’s just a matter of bringing it together for long periods, stringing together a complete game, and being consistent. We’ve just got to dig deep within to make sure we take the responsibility as batters; and as bowlers we keep being aggressive,” said Holder.

— Sanjay Myers