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The West Indies have seen a minor resurgence in their fortunes in recent years. They have become a competitive side in the limited overs version of the game after a few dull years at the International level. Some credit of this resurgence must go to the success of the T-20 format. The West Indian cricketer seems highly suited for that format of the game as he is usually a great entertainer, a powerful hitter with the bat and an imposing figure running at you with the cherry. West Indian cricketers dominate the T-20 leagues all over the world and that has helped them at the International level. However, this minor resurgence did not translate into a significant performance at the Champions Trophy and that has been a bitter disappointment for cricket fans all over the world.
West Indies were partly unlucky as their last match, which was critical to their semi-final chances in the tournament, was interrupted by rain and the infamous duo of Duckworth and Lewis. It was a heartbreaking encounter for the Caribbean fans that was effectively won and lost on a single delivery. However, the greater blame of the exit must be borne by the failures and shortcomings of individual departments of the team. Here is a list of five reasons why West Indies could not make their way to the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy.
5. Chris Gayle‘s failure
The Gayle storm that so often devastates the T-20 competitions around the world was shackled by different bowling attacks in the Champions Trophy. The impact that Gayle can have on a match is so huge that teams have started to pay singular attention to finding weaknesses in his batting style. He got promising starts in each game of the competition and was dismissed in the 30′s each time. It seemed like that he had made a conscious adjustment to his game for the welfare of his team as he approached the first few overs with caution but he could never take off. It was a loss for the West Indies team as well as for cricket fans all over the world who keenly anticipated a Gayle-storm.
4. Lack of Depth in Bowling
West Indies did not have a weak bowling line-up. Quite the contrary they had two of the most promising bowlers in the competition in Sunil Narine and Kemar Roach. The first game saw the West Indies bowling line-up single-handedly deliver a win for their side as they dismissed Pakistan cheaply. However, Kemar Roach was decimated by the Indian batsmen indicating that there is still some way that he has to go before he can join the ranks of Dale Steyn and James Anderson. Ravi Rampaul looked lack-lustre throughout the competition and he was not hitting the right length in English conditions that offer swing. Sunil Narine’s wicket taking abilities were on exhibition but that was not enough as there was a general lack of quality around him.
3. Dismal Middle Order
The West Indies were banking on solid batting performances from their middle order batsmen. The West Indian side was always going to be prone to the criticism that they had the big-hitters but no one to anchor the innings in a format that required teams to utilize all 50 overs. West Indies included Ramnaresh Sarwan for that purpose in this team but he could only muster 2 runs in 2 games for the team. Marlon Samuels did not stand to the level of expectations either and his whirl-windy knock against the South Africans was not enough to guide them to the semi-finals.
2. The failure of Impact players
Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard were perhaps the biggest assets in this team. They could contribute to the team with the bat and the ball. Their effectivity however was greatly curtailed by the fact that the top order could not set-up a platform for them to capitalize upon as they are mainly lower order slog-overs batsmen. They can provide the last 100 runs to a team that has 200 on the board in 40 overs. Kieron Pollard was forced to bat against India and South Africa in circumstances that demanded rebuilding and looked out of sorts. On the other hand, Dwayne bravo seemed overwhelmed with the burden of captaincy and greatly under-utilized himself.
1. The fateful delivery
Chasing a curtailed total of 230 in 36 overs against the Proteas, the West Indies were on course by the end of 26 overs with 190 runs on the board. The sky was deceptively clear. A rash shot from Kieron Pollard saw him being caught at third man of the bowling of Ryan Mclaren and suddenly the rain came pouring down. The dismissal meant that West Indies who had lead on the D/L score before that single delivery were now tied on score with South Africa. The points were shared and by virtue of a superior run-rate South Africa made their way into the semi-finals. This was not a one-off incident in the history of the game. In fact, South Africa have been on the wrong side of it before. In the 1992 World Cup that employed a different method of resetting targets saw a similar disaster. When rain stopped play for 12 minutes with South Africa needing 22 runs from 13 balls chasing England’s 6/252 off 45 overs, and the revised target left South Africa needing 21 runs from one ball. South Africa lost that game but the victory against the West Indies was perhaps history’s compensation to the Proteas.
