West Indies ended their miserable World Cup with just a 23-run win over last-placed Afghanistan last week, as they bade farewell to a disastrous campaign that yielded a mere two wins from eight matches.
The West Indies limped out of the tournament, with, statistically, was their worst ever in the 44-year history in the event.
A win at the start of the competition against Pakistan by Captain Jason Holder’s men had captured the imagination of the cricketing world. But a string of six defeats brought embarrassment to the team and the win over Afghanistan only reminded them they are at the bottom of world cricket.
After scoring 311 for six off their 50 overs, mainly due to Shai Hope 77 (who was dropped on 5), Evin Lewis and Nicholas Pooran’s 58 each and captain Holder’s 45, their bowlers lost their plan before they bowled out Afghanistan out of 288 at Headingley, Leeds,
At one point it looked like Afghanistan would have pulled off their fourth win in five matches against the West Indies, as Rahamut Shah and Ikram Alikil put on a score of 133 in 25 overs after the first wicket fell at 5.
It was only when Alikil fell for 86 off 93 balls with eight fours that the West Indies finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The early dismissal of Chris Gayle for 7 in his final World Cup hampered their chances of posting a bigger score.
Gayle-making his record-tying 295 ODI appearance for the West Indies- had bowling figures of 1-28 off his six overs to make up for his batting failure.
He had needed 18 runs to top Brian Lara’s (10,348) as West Indies leading scorer in ODIs, but scored only 7.
