THE West Indies answered their critics as they battered Pakistan on both sides of the ball to get their World Cup campaign up and running with a 150-run victory in Christchurch.

Denesh Ramdin and Lendl Simmons laid the foundations for the Windies, with knocks of 51 and 50 respectively, before Andre Russell sparkled with an unbeaten 42 off just 13 balls to guide them to 310 for six.

With four wickets gone and 10 overs remaining the Windies cut loose, piling on 115 runs from their final 60 balls, although they were helped by poor Pakistan fielding throughout at Hagley Oval.

Pakistan's reply got off to a disastrous start, with Jerome Taylor (three) and Jason Holder leaving them on four for one after four overs - the worst start in one-day history.

A sixth-wicket stand of 80 from Sohaib Maqsood (50) and Umar Akmal (59) helped stave off the inevitable, but they were eventually skittled for just 160 with 11 overs remaining.

Russell, who added to his fine batting display by taking three for 33 with the ball, said there had been laughter and high spirits in a happy dressing room after the crushing win.

"We want to show the world that we are a good team and we can fight," he said.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq found fault with every department of his team's performance, which leaves them his team at the bottom of Pool B.

Asked what had gone wrong, Misbah replied: "Everything, I think, in all three departments. We couldn't bowl well, a lot of dropped catches."

In Brisbane, Michael Clarke's Australia return was put on hold by rain as his side's clash against Bangladesh was abandoned, with the teams sharing a point each.