West Indies Cricket Board must act swiftly to regain the confidence of the region after the West Indies Cricket team failed to regain the Twenty20 ICC trophy. West Indies lost to Sri Lanka in the semi-final in a rain affected match. What has to take place is a general review of the state of West Indies players. Although many of the players are very talented, the manner in which these talents are exhibited do not create too many victories for the team.
Some players are not fully equipped to overcome the challenges that they face on the field. Sri Lanka defeating the West Indies in the semi-final was a clear indication of sporadic quality of the West Indies team. The 2014 Twenty20 champions displayed intense cricket. It was not the West Indies day.
Sri Lanka controlled the momentum of the game from the start to when the rain came. To back up Sri Lanka’s superb batting, their bowlers started with some hostility, which removed Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Bravo.
West Indies must focus on two categories mainly, Test Cricket and One-Day International. Samuel Badree and Krishmar Santokie should be playing One-Day International. West Indies have top bowlers who can create havoc on any top batsman. Badree, Narine and Santokie are not only Twenty20 cricketers but they are suitable for all the other categories of the game.
The West Indies selectors ought to demonstrate better choices when selecting teams for the One-Day International and Test matches. Tino Best and Kemar Roach are suitable Test match players in the bowling department along with the spinners. The composition of the team greatly determines the outcome of the game. A well balanced squad with the appropriate bowlers and batters for the specific game stand a better chance of winning. Much more efforts must be made by coach, captain and selectors. Some form of consistency must be shown by the West Indies cricket team.
