Successive losses, first to Zimbabwe followed two days later by the previously unthinkable submission to the Netherlands, have all but scuttled the West Indies hopes of qualifying for the ICC 2023 World Cup to be played in India this coming October-November. The losses left the West Indies with zero carryover points heading into the Zimbabwe Qualifier’s Super Six competition, from which the top two teams will progress to India World Cup tournament participation.
To stand even the remotest, mathematical, chance of emerging as one of the Zimbabwe Qualifier’s top two teams, the West Indies will first have to win all three of its Super Six matches against Sri Lanka, Scotland, and Oman. That would give them the maximum six points available. Secondly, they will also then have to hope that only one of the other five participating teams will get to eight points from their respective three scheduled matches. Finally, the last piece of the now required overly complicated mathematical jigsaw puzzle would be for the West Indies to also complete its Super Six matches, not only having won all three as previously indicated, but also doing so in a manner that would provide a superior net run rate than any other team that might also finish on six points!
The odds of all three of those required scenarios completely playing out in West Indies’ favor are much greater than those associated with any existing bona fide Caribbean lottery! So, who now should and must be held responsible of this the lowest previously unimaginable low of West Indies ODI cricket? The two times former champions and three times finalists now most likely failing to qualify for the World Cup for the very first time in the tournament’s 48-year history!
Not surprisingly many of the West Indies fans who took to Facebook to vent their anger, frustration, disappointment, and utter embarrassment following the loss to the Netherlands, were inclined to lay the blame for the entire debacle solely at the feet of the recently appointed Head Coach Darren Sammy. Citing Sammy’s highly controversial appointment, against the background of his not having either the certification or necessary experience that had been listed in the posted job qualification requirements, the expressed view was that the World Cup Qualifier tournament had proven itself to be a bridge too far for him. Confirming the belief, held by many, that he would be found wanting and out of his depth when faced with must-win match situations at the highest level.
In his post-match media interview, following the crucial loss to Zimbabwe, Sammy had been glowing in his praise of the West Indies bowling unit. Being highly commendable of their outstanding execution of the plans he and skipper Shai Hope had set in all the West Indies matches up to and including the Zimbabwe encounter.
According to Sammy, the primary reason for the Zimbabwe loss had been the very poorly provided supportive West Indies fielding, which featured as many as six dropped catches. In total, tallying the eventual scores of the reprieved Zimbabwe batsmen, those six dropped catches cost the West Indies as many as 111 extra runs.
And yet it was the very same highly commended bowling unit that initially failed utterly to defend the mammoth 374 the West Indies batsmen had set as their first-strike fifty-over total against the Netherlands. In a demonstrated masterclass of how to properly chase a formidable total, the Netherlands’ batsmen eventually tied the scores off the final ball of their 50th over, forcing the first ever Super Over in World Cup Qualification tournament history.
Forced to bowl first, the West Indies “think tank” made two incomprehensible decisions that ultimately cost them the match. Their absolute say in the first, which was to choose to bowl from the end that would allow the Netherlands batsmen to hit across the line towards the boundaries on the much shorter side of the ground, is not fully known. There was absolutely nothing forced about the second, however, which was to give the responsibility of bowling the Super Over to Jason Holder, rather than Alzarri Joseph, the West Indies best bowler by far up to that stage of the tournament.
As it turned out, Netherlands’ all-rounder Logan van Beek struck Holder for three sixes and an equal number of fours to post a seemingly insurmountable 30 in their first-strike Super Over. Insurmountable it proved to be, as the West Indies lost first Johnson Charles then Romario Shepherd first ball with only eight runs having been scored, as the Netherlands clinched victory to the unexpected, unbridled joy of their players and followers everywhere. While the two-time former World Cup champions West Indies were left cringing in the utter embarrassment of conceding defeat to a much lower-ranked opponent!
In all fairness to Sammy, no matter how good a coach he might be, his effectiveness will always be subject to the quality of the personnel that he has been handed to work with. Sammy can only really be blamed for two decisions. Firstly, for his highly debatable decision to engage the previously proven failure Floyd Reifer as one of his Assistant Coaches. Secondly, there was also his suspected primary role in the decision to add the recalled aging, obviously unfit batsman Johnson Charles, to the squad as a replacement for the injured spinner Gudakesh Motie.
Apart from those two highly debatable decisions. the West Indies team which has now seemingly failed to qualify for the World Cup, was hoisted on Sammy and not of his choosing! As such there should be some limit to his accountability for the teams’ demonstrated failure to properly execute the plans that had been established as requirements for victory. In all three departments, batting, bowling, and fielding, the West Indies were found wanting. Hence their now more than likely non-progression as World Cup qualifiers.
If not Sammy, then who?
It certainly cannot be the skipper Shai Hope. He, along with Nicholas Pooran, was one of the West Indies’ two most consistent batsmen throughout the tournament. His captaincy on the field was also outstanding in the use of his bowlers. Except again for the Jason Holder Super Over choice, his role for which is now not yet known.
So, if not Sammy or Hope then who?
The only persons remaining as arguably culpable would-be Selection Chair Desmond Haynes and his Co-Selector Roland Butcher. Since his January 2022 appointment, Haynes’ chosen squads have been inevitably increasingly controversial.
The squad handed to Sammy, which has now been found wanting, was entirely of Haynes and Butcher’s choosing. Haynes has also known of the West Indies’ likely participation in the Zimbabwe Qualifier since his initial appointment and should have been much better prepared for the tournament and the West Indies’ scheduled opponents in terms of his chosen players.
Haynes’ accountability for the likely embarrassing World Cup non-qualification should now raise very serious and probing questions over his continued suitability for the Chairmanship role. At the very least, it should have by now also become palpably obvious to Cricket West Indies President Dr. Kishore Shallow, that the current three-member Selection Panel is no longer viable!
One immediate remedial outcome of the Zimbabwe disaster must be the expansion of the West Indies Selection Panel from three to five members. Jamaica’s Jeffrey Dujon and Trinidad & Tobago’s Tony Gray are two readily identifiable former West Indies Test and ODI players who can now be added to the Panel in time for the selection of the respective squads to face India in the upcoming 2023 Home Series. The West Indies and India will play two Tests, three ODIs, and five T20Is this coming July – August.
Should the West Indies, as now seems highly likely, fail to progress to this year’s India -hosted World Cup, then the ODI Series against the Indians should be viewed as the start of the four-year preparation cycle for the 2027 tournament. Towards that end, all the proven outright failures and/or inadequate performers should be immediately discarded in favor of a reconstructed squad that will, hopefully, produce better results.
Alick Athanaze, Shimron Hetmeyer, Kyle McKenzie, Kevin Sinclair, Akeem Jordan, Jair McAllister, as well as the recovered from injury Jayden Seales and Gudakesh Motie are among those who must be included in the revamped squad. Conversely, the likes of Kyle Mayers, Shamarh Brooks, Johnson Charles, and Roston Chase are some of those from the current squad who should be thanked for their provided service and shown the exit door.
Failure to qualify for the ODI World Cup for the very first time in the tournament’s 48-year history must now be considered the lowest of the lows for West Indies cricket. It cannot be allowed to sink any lower. The phoenix must instead be made to rise from the ashes, progressing ever upwards during the next four years in full, unwavering, pursuit of regaining our lost glory.