The West Indies time at the 2024 T20 World Cup is over. In a do-or-die fixture for both South Africa and the co-hosts, the unbeaten run of the South Africans for this event continues, meaning that Group B semi-finalists are now decided.
The Proteas will top Group B on six points, and play against the runners-up of Group A (Afghanistan) while England will play Group A’s winner (India).
It was a disappointing performance from the West Indies in the end, a team that showed growing form over the last 10 months, having moved from ninth position to currently third in the ICC International T20 ranking.
At a packed venue in Antigua with massive West Indian support, the South Africans having won the toss, invited the West Indies to have the first strike. Johnson Charles lost his place in the opening position, to make way for the left-handed Kyle Mayers, added to the squad on Saturday to replace the injured Brandon King.
Almost immediately, Kyle Hope drove loosely outside the off stump the first ball he faced in over number one, to be smartly snapped up in the covers. Interestingly, from over number two, the leading strike bowler Kagiso Rabada, took a back seat, and skipper Aiden Markram came on with his off-spinners, surely targeting the left-handed duo of Mayers and number three Nicholas Pooran.
Pooran tried to dominate straight away, however, his injudicious and irresponsible lofted drive could only find the hands of the eager South African fielder at long off. After a fighting half-century partnership between Roston Chase and Mayers, the Windies hopelessly crumbled for a paltry 135.
A rain interruption and some ugly mistakes by the South Africa batters kept the home side fighting, but a revised target of 127 was achieved, and South Africa was beaming with joy having qualified for the semis later this week.
Earlier in the tournament, while the Windies played through the preliminary round without much headache, it was always my feeling that they were not playing their strongest XI.
Romario Shepherd, who shared the new ball with spinner Akeal Hosein, is not quite a strike bowler, nor can he be truly considered an effective death bowler on a decent playing surface. This was disguised by the unpredictable playing surfaces that all teams experienced on the pitches in Providence Stadium Guyana, and at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, San Fernando. The moment we left those shores and took on England in St. Lucia, Shepherd looked a mere trundler.
He was eventually, and rightfully so, replaced by the tall left-handed pacer Obed Mc Coy.
And how a West Indies XI does not include Shai Hope from inception was difficult to comprehend. Instead, Johnson Charles was favoured to partner Brandon King. Repeatedly, Charles failed to produce, and even when he got a score of 40 odd runs on two occasions, the dot ball percentage was alarmingly high. The non-inclusion of Hope and McCoy meant very little match play until crunch time, which is always a difficult proposition.
But to be fair, the Windies did not lose for lack of effort. They gave it their all on the park and their preparation seemed adequate. Also, Coach Sammy has certainly reignited some fire and energy in the way they play, however, technically and tactically seems to be their weaknesses.
Other teams were better prepared.
One could see clear plans on how the better teams dealt with Akeal Hosein’s dangerous arm ball, and the aggression showed against the questionable West Indies attack.
With the region’s fan base evidently right behind the effort, as evidenced by the many sold-out venues across the Caribbean, one hopes that there’s an opportunity to build on a solid year in T20 performances. As is customary with most World Cups, there’ll be some retirement notifications. This will provide an opportunity for some young talent to continue to take the West Indies team forward. Here’s wishing them the very best success.
Andre P. Lawrence
Former national player