The West Indies’ run at the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is over, and once again, the hearts of the Caribbean people are left broken.
In a do-or-die fixture for the tournament co-hosts in Super 8 Group B, at North Sound, Antigua, on Sunday night, the men in maroon came up short against South Africa, adding to the disappointment of Windies fans who have grown accustomed to woeful performances over the last two decades but were hopeful the two-time T20 World champions would also lift this year's edition of the ICC trophy on home turf.
After winning the toss, South Africa invited the hosts to take first strike. However, Johnson Charles quickly lost his place in the opening position to make way for reserve player Kyle Mayers, who drove loosely outside off stump on the first ball he faced in the first over to offer a simple catch to Tristan Stubbs in the covers. Thus began the end of the West Indies’ time at the tournament. Now with a left-handed pair at the wicket after Nicholas Pooran joined Mayers, Proteas skipper and part-time off-spinner Aiden Markram took the ball himself, and it wasn’t long after that Pooran was caught out on the fence by Marco Jansen. With two wickets down early in the power play, Mayers and Roston Chase took on a rebuilding job, but not without its challenges and chances, as Markam kept his spinners in rotation, and together they initiated a procession of wickets with batsmen playing injudicious and irresponsible shots.
Only Chase proved that there was merit in picking moments during a knock of 52 from 42 balls. With four overs remaining, there was a decent enough platform for incoming batsman Andre Russell to think about getting them somewhere in the region of 150, but he too failed in his judgement.
The West Indies crumbled for a paltry 135 for 8 from 20 overs. Rain interruptions gave South Africa a revised target of 127, which they achieved with minimal fuss, reaching 124 for 7 to qualify for the semi-final by three wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method. After the defeat, Powell said West Indies’ batting effort against South Africa must be quickly forgotten and blamed the pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground for his team's demise. However, there is no doubt that South Africa adjusted better to win the encounter, which had a rewarding prize at the end. In fact, Powell's own performance throughout the competition leaves a lot of questions to be answered after he was dismissed for one against South Africa to complete a poor outing in the tournament with scores of 15, 23, 1, 26, and 36 before that. Ultimately, though, the outcome is hardly surprising. Yet, there's no doubt that certain aspects of the Windies’ effort must be applauded alongside some outstanding individual performances.
And with continued improvement, we remain hopeful that Powell’s men could deliver glory to the people of the Caribbean in similar fashion to the teams of 2012 and 2016.
On the bright side, the West Indies have qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup by virtue of reaching this year’s Super 8 stage.
Perhaps when that tournament comes around, our players will be mature mentally and will be better prepared in their assessment of conditions to find the approach needed in any situation, to the satisfaction of fans and supporters around the globe.