HARARE, Zimbabwe, CMC – A focus has fallen on West Indies’ combination for today’s “must-win” game against the Netherlands, especially in the wake of the Caribbean side’s shock defeat to Zimbabwe.
West Indies started the ICC World Cup Qualifiers as one of the favourites and won their opening two matches against United States and Nepal, before crashing to a 35-run defeat to the hosts on Saturday.
In search of answers in order to get the campaign back on track, head coach Darren Sammy has stressed the need to pick the best XI in order to give the Caribbean side the best chance of victory.
“We have a squad of 14 we can choose from. Obviously we’re giving Yannic Cariah the best chance of being ready from that blow he received to his nose and we will look at the combinations,” Sammy told reporters yesterday.
“We’re coming up against Netherlands in a must-win game, and we’ll look at the combinations which we believe can go out and win that game for us and moving forward in the tournament.”
In particular, the top three have come under scrutiny. Openers Kyle Mayers (59 runs) and Brandon King (52) have struggled to give the side proper starts, even though the left-handed Mayers top-scored with 56 against Zimbabwe.
Johnson Charles, at number three instead of his usual opening slot, top-scored against United States with 66 but has managed only a single run in the last two games.
Rovman Powell, meanwhile, has scored 30 runs from three innings down the order, also bringing his spot into question.
“Coming into this team, the squad that I inherited coming into these qualifiers, obviously the main openers was Brandon King who was batting really well at the top and Kyle Mayers who has been consistent up there for us,” Sammy explained.
“[Shamarh Brooks] was the guy who was supposed to start at number three but in the first game Brooks was sick and not available for selection, and the next best option for us was Johnson Charles who came in the game against the USA and got a half-century.
“We are aware of it. Broosky is now fully available and recovered from his illness and we have 14 guys to select from for tomorrow’s match and I assure you we will come up with the best combination that will help us go out and win matches.”
He continued: “But Johnson Charles has batted at three on a number of occasions. He does it in the T20 cricket but obviously his preferred choice is at the opening spot.”
There have been suspicions about West Indies’ batting despite their opening two opening wins and those fears came to reality when they failed to chase down Zimbabwe’s 268.
Mayers, along with Roston Chase (44), Nicholas Pooran (34) and captain Shai Hope (30) all got starts but failed to push on, and Sammy said this was a situation which needed to change.
“I think the question is about batsmen taking ownership and responsibility. Men who get starts have to continue, [and] don’t leave anything for those coming,” the former West Indies captain said.
“Again, it is something we are building. Guys who are in have to try their best to finish the game.
“At one point in time [against Zimbabwe], we needed under five runs an over [and] in a good position. It was just about knocking the ball around and batting as deep as possible and not leaving anything out there for anyone.
“The bowling was very defensive and we [gave away our hands]. It’s just being aware of the situation but then again, if you have not done something consistently, little mishaps like [against Zimbabwe] will continue.”
West Indies swept the Netherlands in a three-match ODI series last year.
SQUADS:
NETHERLANDS – Scott Edwards (captain), Max O’Dowd, Logan van Beek, Vikram Singh, Aryan Dutt, Viv Kingma, Bas de Leede, Noah Croes, Ryan Klein, Teja Nidamanuru, Wesley Barresi, Shariz Ahmad, Clayton Floyd, Michael Levitt, Saqib Zulfiqar.
WEST INDIES – Shai Hope (captain), Rovman Powell, Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran and Romario Shepherd.