Throughout the Cricket World Cup most of the senior players that represented the West Indies fell very short from their top performances and as a result the West Indies team was beaten in the quarter-final and thrown out of the ICC World Cup Competition.
Pakistan bowled out the West Indies for 112 in 43.3 overs. Shivnarine Chanderpaul 44 runs from 105 balls and Ramnaresh Sarwan 24 runs from 68 balls. These two senior players showed no maturity as top West Indies players who can be relied on. They scored very slowly and their performance does not fit into the World Cup criteria.
Pakistani Mohammed Hafeez scored 61 runs, not out, from 64 balls and Umar Akmal scored 47 runs, not out, from 61 balls as Pakistan ended at 113 runs without loss from 20.5 overs winning the game quite easily. Captain Shahidi Afridi picked up 4 wickets for 30 runs from 9.3 overs.
The West Indies batsmen looked like novice players as they showed little professional skills. Ramnaresh Sarwan is the only player that stood up against the spinners but his scoring rate was very slow and he was not dominant against the spinners.
Chanderpaul was not chosen to play against England and India and the West Indies selectors on tour ought to give some explanation. West Indies opening batsman Chris Gayle failed miserably in the World Cup, scoring just one half century. Gayle’s performance was very disappointing for a senior player and he is known internationally as one of the best modern-day players in international cricket, specifically limited overs cricket.
Head Coach Ottis Gibson was very disappointed at the outcome of the West Indies’ last game when they lost against Pakistan.
Selectors Must Get Tough
The West Indies selectors must go forward and choose the players that are dedicated and not those that are negligent. Jerome Taylor, Adrian Barath and Marlon Samuels must return to the West Indies squad. The necessary changes that should be made to the top order must be done when Pakistan visits the Caribbean.
Wicket-keeper batsman Carlton Baugh Jr, hopefully should be back after his injury. The West Indies Cricket Team should be balanced with a variety of bowlers and capable front line batsmen. Two spinners must be included in the Test Series with Pakistan and Devendra Bishoo must be one of them.
Bishoo has shown his international talents by picking up three wickets against England on debut. The wickets he took were Jonathan Trott, Eon Morgan and Luke Wright. These are England’s three top batsmen, particularly Eon Morgan who is a one-day specialist batsman.
The West Indies Cricket Board and the selectors ought to modify their strategies and rethink the position of captaincy for the captain is the leader of the cricket team and his performances on the field must be an exemplary one. Darren Sammy, the present West Indies captain, fell very short in his personal performances on the field and should be replaced as captain. This is in the best interest of West Indies cricket.
