Windies U19s gave it away
INSTANCES OF genuine promise and hope for the once mighty and all-conquering institution of West Indies cricket have been few and far between in recent times. Lifting our first men’s World Twenty20 (T20) title in 2012, followed by the double triumph in the same format by the men’s and women’s teams in 2016, along with the Under-19s winning their first world title, also in 2016, are relatively recent achievements that jump out as cherished and inspirational moments in an otherwise oasis of despair.
When this current under-19 team set off for South Africa to try and emulate the feat of then captain Shimron Hetmyer’s and his 2016 team, very few, if any, West Indians gave them any realistic chance of even competing for the title, especially after their less-than-impressive displays in the warm-up tri-nation series involving England and Sri Lanka.
Lo and behold, the tournament itself arrived, with the Windies drawn in the group of death with England, Australia, and minnows Nigeria! The expectations for this team advancing as one of the top two teams from the group were muted, but as the Caribbean boys impressively toppled both England and Australia in their first two games and then duly obliged against Nigeria, a run of results that saw to the elimination of England in the first round, the cricketing world began to take notice.
The attitude application that complemented the technical skills of these players had Caribbean fans bursting with optimism heading into the quarterfinal against New Zealand. Nothing could prepare a now expectant West Indian public for the way the players beat themselves to send their title-winning chances up in smoke. The young West Indians, first of all, committed the cardinal sin of failing to bat out their allotted 50 overs, due mainly to the kind of shot selection that was indicative of their regional senior counterparts. However, even with 238 runs on the board, with the quality of our bowling attack, they were still very much in the contest at the innings break.
Things, incredibly, fell apart as the World Cup dreams turned into nightmares for the Windies.
Having New Zealand reeling at 153 for 8, it should have been all over bar the shouting. Skipper Kimani Melius, with the apparent blessings of a complicit coaching and management staff, inexplicably allowed the game to drift away as the dreams of another blitz of glory slipped from the grasp of helpless observers and fans.
UNSOLVED MYSTERY
The unsolved mystery remains as to how the New Zealand number nine and 10 batsmen were allowed to put on an unbeaten game winning partnership of 86 runs. It’s baffling how they were allowed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, all while skipper Melius ignored off spinner Matthew Patrick, who bowled nine overs for 18 runs, and the impressive pacer Jaden Seals, who, up to that point, bowled six overs for 21 runs. Shockingly, both remained unused in those crucial moments as the New Zealand lower order clobbered the alternates to all parts of the ground, with Melius looking like a lost, despondent soul instead of a leader.
Obviously lost and bewildered and apparently suffering from shock, Milius, in the post-match interview, proceeded to blame this astonishing defeat on a couple of dropped half-chances, without any reference to his glaring miscalculations and daft decision making in the crucial moments of the game.
Cricket match defeats are nothing new for West Indies cricket fans, but this one is an extremely bitter pill to swallow, not just the fact that the West Indies lost, but the way they gave it away.