THE West Indies are back - and are now all set for a spectacular semi-final against World Cup favourites Australia.
Richie Richardson's men, ridiculed just 12 days ago after being beaten by Kenya, soared into the last four with a 19-run victory over well-fancied South Africa. Brian Lara was the hero at Karachi's National Stadium, scoring a magnificent 111 off 94 balls.
In Madras a real upset looked on the cards as New Zealand cruised to a daunting total of 286 for nine in their quarter-final meeting with Australia.
But Mark Taylor's team simply set their sights a little higher and roared past the winning post with six wickets and 13 deliveries to, spare. Mark Waugh led the way by scoring 110 - his third century in four World Cup matches - while twin brother Steve weighed in with an unbeaten 59.
It meant misery for New Zealand, despite recording their highest one-day international total against Australia. And it was especially heartbreaking for Chris Harris, who had given the Kiwis real hope while contributing an heroic 130 to the cause.
Meanwhile, despite the West Indies' dramatic revival, skipper Richardson has no intentions of changing his mind about retiring from international cricket after the World Cup. My mind is made up," he said last night. "It's not something I decided on the spur of the moment."
