The West Indies’ dream of a third ICC T20 World Cup title ended in the group stage.
Over the years, T20 games involving the West Indies have been about speed, skill, aggression and ambition as the Maroon Brigade kept walloping opponents to stake a claim as the first truly great men’s T20I team. Four semifinal appearances in six editions and two World titles attest to that.
Incredible run
So, the early exit from the 2021 edition should in no way diminish the larger achievements of a side that, for nearly a decade, was regarded as the gold standard in T20 cricket and refashioned the way the format is played.
However, the West Indians’ campaign at the World Cup was marred by curious selections, inability to tailor the boundary-hitting strategy to conditions and an ageing group of T20 Hall of Famers.
When the West Indies won titles in 2012 and 2016, it had a team that was also built around effective spin bowling options, and was well-suited to defending totals. Leg-spinner Samuel Badree and left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn are cases in point.
No place for Narine!
Inexplicably, there was no place for Sunil Narine in the World Cup squad. It was quite surprising given that he had been active in the CPL, IPL and Hundred.
Roger Harper, the lead selector, had said at the time: “Sunil Narine is a great miss for a team like this in a tournament like this. Any team would miss having a bowler of that quality in the team but… [he] did not make our fitness standards.”
The team clearly missed Narine’s experience and guile in conditions that aided spin bowling.
Over-reliance
Another impediment was the West Indies’ over-reliance on power-hitting which didn’t really click on the slow, low pitches and large boundaries in the UAE. It lost 0-3 to Pakistan in the UAE in 2016 due to the same reason. The importance of running ones and twos on big grounds, like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, was once again emphasised.
The T20 nous and experience that Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo bring from their time in T20 leagues globally is unparalleled. Unfortunately, barring Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran, the next generation of West Indies batters is yet to find its feet. Nonetheless it’s time to pass on the baton.