Two captains yesterday came up with contrasting theories about the string of mismatches that have so far blighted the NatWest series.
Brian Lara took a look at the Sophia Gardens wicket yesterday and came up with the notion that someone was about to buck the trend in which all three wins have gone to sides who have won the toss and inserted the opposition.
And it is not a new phenomenon. The last six matches in last summer's competition all went to the team batting second.
According to the West Indies captain, speaking before today's match against New Zealand in Cardiff: "You just need application up front.
"The new ball is expected to do a lot; if you are playing in England on a fresh track it is going to do something. It is the same in the first three hours of a Test match, so what is the difference in a one-day international?"
Stephen Fleming, captain of top-of-the-table New Zealand, was more forensic, citing damp weather, zippy wickets and overoptimistic batting.
"Often on these wickets the ball is doing a lot more," he said. "We have the same situation [in New Zealand] where we have tried to get more pace in the wickets, but as a by-product of that we have a lot of sideways movement.
"Now we find ourselves having to play a faster game. You start to think you have to put 250 or 300 on the board, because you are thinking as the wicket flattens out that will be the right sort of score.
"What you have to have is the experience to make a judgment from pitch to pitch how to approach the innings and whether you must have a 250 to 300 total still in your sights after the first 15 overs."
According to Fleming, "it is important to have a strong game plan" and he is confident New Zealand are in better shape to win the tournament than they were earlier in the summer.
However, he is anxious about this weekend when New Zealand go straight from today's match in Cardiff to Bristol, where they will face England. At the start of the tournament he damned the NatWest format, saying back-to-back one-day internationals were unfair, with visiting sides almost always drawing the short straw while England play only once, with time to rest between matches.
"I'm not happy full stop with back-to-back games. I've strongly stated that for some time," said Fleming.
"The fact that it is the case in this tournament, so be it. But on principle, looking further ahead, I don't think they should play a part because I don't think it is realistic to expect high-class performances during a whole weekend.
"I'm strongly in favour . . . of having at least one day, even three days in between games. That's just to make sure the paying public get the opportunity to see athletes at their best."
New Zealand (from): Fleming (capt), Astle, Cairns, Harris, Hopkins, McMillan, Marshall, Oram, Papps, Styris, Tuffey, Vettori, Butler, Franklin.
West Indies (from): Lara (capt), Baugh, TL Best, Bradshaw, Bravo, Chanderpaul, Lawson, Gayle, Jacobs, Powell, Rampaul, Sammy, Sarwan, DS Smith, DR Smith.