By Rajiv Bisnauth
IT MIGHT sounds a bit harsh on the West Indies, but the one-day International three-match (ODI) series against Bangladesh has never been a contest.
At no time could the largely inexperienced visitors threaten and suffer another embarrassing series laundering. Such was their level of competence that it seemed like a formality only from the beginning.
Not having experience is one thing, but that shouldn’t stop the batsmen showing intent. Not once did the West Indies pass 200, no visiting batsman went past 50, and all of this should sum up all three games quite well. One-way traffic all the way!
The request and commitment of the tourists was missing. Their batsmen struggled to form any worthy partnerships and were completely undone by Bangladesh’s clinical bowling exhibition throughout the series.
They were not even allowed to play their full quota of 50 overs in the first two games and were bowled out at 121 and 148 before yesterday’s loss of 120 which summed up Bangladesh’s dominance in the series.
However, at the post-match press conference, ODI stand-in captain Jason Mohammed said the inexperience in the squad had cost them the series.
“We were a bit far away in all three games. Bowling did fine, today maybe 30 runs too many. The batting didn’t work at all. Playing the spinners was really challenging for us, especially in the first two games, ”Mohammed calculated.
The Trinidadian added, “It’s something that can be corrected with our full strength batting line. Once everyone is back, we’re going to do better at putting runs on the table. Some positives: Alzarri Joseph did well, may not have got the wickets but he did well at the top and at the time of death. Akeal Hosein in his first outing went well. ”
West Indies played a second-string side as many of their players chose not to travel to Bangladesh because of COVID-19 concerns while a few gave up the trip due to personal reasons.
With three consecutive wins over the hosts, Bangladesh have won a full 30 Super League points.
The Super League is a brand new ODI competition, which takes place over two years and aims to raise 50-over bilateral match poles.
In its first issue, the Super League will help decide which teams appear in India’s 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup in India, or which teams must follow the path of the tortured qualifiers.
Thirteen teams are taking part in this competition. These are the 12 Full Member countries, along with the Netherlands.
The Netherlands won their place as the 13th team by winning the ICC World Cricket League Championship back in 2017.
Meanwhile, West Indies will now turn their attention to the two-game Test series which will only get harder for them. The first starts on February 3.