HARARE, Zimbabwe, CMC – Head coach Darren Sammy said yesterday West Indies’ failure to defend 374 against minnows the Netherlands and their shoddy fielding throughout the entire tournament, was a “true reflection” of the state of affairs surrounding the Caribbean side.
In a frank assessment following West Indies’ shock defeat to the Dutch in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers on Monday, Sammy slammed his side as the “worst fielding team” in the campaign, contending they were not expressing themselves like a quality international side.
“[At the] half-way stage [and with] 375 on the board, I thought the batters did excellently but again it shows you where we are as a team,” said Sammy who took over the helm of the white-ball squad last month.
“We were kind of poor tactically. We didn’t stick to the plans as long as possible and we just thought because we had 375 on the board that we should win, but cricket is not played like this.
“And it’s a lesson for us that you can’t take any game of cricket for granted.” He continued: “I am a very positive thinker and I understand the journey that I have to take with this team. Sometimes you’ve got to reach rock bottom to come back up.
“I understand the challenges ahead and I also understand that things will not change overnight and it’s a true reflection of where our cricket is at the moment and we have a lot of work to do.”
West Indies appeared out of sight when they rattled up 374 for six off their 50 overs but then watched as the Netherlands produced a superb run chase to tie the scores, courtesy of Teja Nidamanuru’s 111 off 76 balls.
Logan van Beek then blasted 30 runs from Jason Holder’s super-over before taking up the ball to defend the target, as West Indies lost their second on the trot following last weekend’s defeat to Zimbabwe.
“We keep on dropping catches and coming down to the end, some of the decision we made, it makes you question what was going on,” Sammy lamented.
“Again, like when we played Zimbabwe, we really did not deserve to win with that display in the second half. It was really poor. Credit most go to the Netherlands … the way they batted and they stuck to it.”
He continued: “For years people have been saying we’re a boundary-hitting team and scoring off more balls is one of the big elements we have to improve on in all formats of the white-ball game and again, just being hungry. “Even in the field, so far I can safely say we’re the worst fielding team in this competition and I speak the truth and I’ll tell the guys that.
“We cannot continue displaying this type of behaviour and attitude on a cricket field and call ourselves an international team. Every other team there’s energy, there are a lot of things that we’re supposed to be doing naturally because it’s a professional sport.
“But again I say, it’s a true reflection of where we are as a team and the stuff we have to do to move forward.”
The defeat left West Indies in a precarious position, without a single point despite reaching the Super Six stage and needing to win all three of their next matches in order to reach the World Cup in India later in the year.
“We’ve put ourselves there, we’ve got ourselves to blame. Two crucial matches with points on offer, we found ourselves in good positions and we let it slip,” Sammy said.
“So again, it’s a true reflection of where we are as a team and in order for this train to move forward, a lot of things have to change.”