West Indies have underachieved - Ponting

West Indies have been serious underachievers at their home World Cup and need to improve their infrastructure and facilities to avoid falling even further, according to Ricky Ponting. The hosts' chances of reaching the semi-finals are almost non-existent and Ponting said they appeared to have succumbed to the pressure of being labelled one of the tournament's favourites.

"A couple of weeks ago, there were some people saying they were one of the favourites coming into this event," Ponting told AAP. "They haven't played as well as they can. Their national team is pretty strong. They have underachieved a lot in this tournament."

Ponting's team was unimpressed by West Indies' behaviour after they beat Australia early in the Champions Trophy in October. West Indies went on to reach the final but were convincingly beaten by Australia, which Ponting said was typical of their hit-and-miss temperament.

"They are a funny side," he said. "Once they start getting on top, then their body language is out of control. You've only got to see a couple of games in the Champions Trophy, especially the first game that we lost.

"It was like they'd won the World Cup, and it was the first game of the Champions Trophy. I think they probably felt a bit of the pressure of being at home in this World Cup and being spoken about a fair bit as real contenders in this event."

Ponting expected the hosts to hit their straps at some point in the Super Eights, with only matches against Bangladesh and England remaining. "You'll see at some stage, there's a couple of games to go," he said. "If they can get off to a good start and they take early wickets then all that sort of body language will come back.

"Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo and those sort of guys tend to enjoy themselves pretty much out on the field when things are going their way, but when things aren't going their way then they can drag their backsides around."

The team would have more chance of on-field success if their administrators poured money into training facilities and attracting talented young players, Ponting said. "If they don't maximise the money that is generated with this World Cup and get their infrastructure and facilities right, then they really could go by the wayside," he said.