Image source, Getty Images

The forecast is not much brighter for Pakistan, who were convincingly walloped by 76 runs in their first match against fierce rivals India. India, you'll recall, had not yet won on their tour of Australia before that - a barren sequence lasting over two months and taking in such curiosities as two ODI defeats to England.

So, y'know, the portents aren't great for a Pakistan side shorn of three of their most influential one-day performers in spinner Saeed Ajmal, all-rounder Mohammed Hafeez and fast bowler Junaid Khan.

What are the reasons to be optimistic? Well, the experience of Misbah, Shahid Afridi and Younus Khan should stand them in good stead and - one-day cricket cliché bingo cards at the ready - Pakistan can beat anybody on their day. But is that day today?

Image source, Getty Images

While Brisbane is lashed by a tropical storm, Christchurch has seen the Windies blow into town - in the midst of their own localised own region of high pressure.

Jason Holder's side are staring down the barrel after suffering a chastening defeat to Ireland in their first match - a result that means they will likely need to beat one of the 'big' nations in their pool to keep their qualification hopes alive.

The Windies have a list of woes as long as Mohammed Irfan's onesie - star batsman Chris Gayle is woefully out of nick, senior players Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo didn't make the trip amid reports of dressing-room unrest, 22-year-old captain Jason Holder looks out of his depth, and the bowlers, minus Sunil Narine, failed to defend a 300+ total against an Associate nation last time out.

But if we know one thing about the West Indies, it's that they're unpredictable - so can they bounce back today?

Both teams make one change after tasting defeat in their opening matches. West Indies bring in spinner Sulieman Benn for fast bowler Kemar Roach, and Pakistan replace spinner Yasir Shah with batsman Nasir Jamshed.

Pakistan XI: Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Haris Sohail, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Irfan.

West Indies XI: Dwayne Smith, Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Lendl Simmons, Darren Sammy, Andre Russell, Jason Holder (capt), Jerome Taylor, Sulieman Benn.

Pakistan have won the toss and captain Misbah has decided to have a bowl. He says the pitch looks a little slow and damp.

We're also hoping to bring the hardier insomniacs among you updates from the match between Australia and Bangladesh, which is due to start around 03:30 GMT.

However, the chances of that match seeing any play at all look slim, thanks to the untimely intervention of Cyclone Marcia., external

Brisbane is expecting a decidedly soggy 200-300mm of rain today - conditions more conducive to Noah's Ark than Mitchell Starc.

All this is rather bad news for England, as in the event of an abandoned match, Bangladesh will receive one point for a no result - which means than England, who lost to Australia, will almost certainly need to beat Bangladesh to qualify from the group.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Day Eight of the 2015 Cricket World Cup.

It's the morning after the night before, and England's players will be waking with an almighty headache and (for many) the rueful memory of one shot too many after suffering the mother of all shellackings against New Zealand.

Their chance for redemption comes tomorrow against Scotland, but first up we turn our attention to a crunch match between two teams who have also begun their tournament with a healthy dose of humiliation.

It's West Indies v Pakistan, live from Christchurch. The captains will be striding out to the wicket to toss for this match in around ten minutes' time.

Unpredictable. Erratic. Mercurial. In this sporting era of marginal gains, ruthless micro-analysis and umpteen sports betting companies blokishly inviting you to wager on the outcome of every fixture under the sun, there remains a romantic attraction to those teams whose performances completely defy prediction, and at times logic.

Brilliant on their day, bewildering bad the next. These sides have talent in abundance, but application and attitude are all too frequently AWOL.

Tonight we will witness the collision of (with apologies to the French rugby team) two of the most dumbfoundingly inconsistent sides in international sport. Over the past ten years, their performance levels have fluctuated as wildly as the seismograph in Dante's Peak., external We know that West Indies are taking on Pakistan. But we have no idea quite which sides will turn up.