It almost looks like a tragedy. A team that intimidated big sides in world cricket for decades, the two-time One-Day World Champions have failed to qualify for ODI World Cup 2023 after a shocking seven-wicket loss to Scotland in the ongoing qualifiers. This is the first time West Indies have been knocked out of 50-over World Cup. Their horrendous run has continued. Last season, they could not make it to the main T20 World Cup 2022 main event after losing the qualifiers.
McMullen causes collapse
After Scotland skipper Richie Berrington won the toss, he chose to field first. Brandon McMullen got a wicket in his first over. Johnson Charles went for an unnecessary lofted shot but got dismissed for a six-ball duck. In his next over, Shamarh Brooks went for a loose shot outside off stump and got out for a three-ball duck. McMullen continued to haunt West Indies' top order. Brandon King got out caught and bowled for a run-a-ball 22. It got worse from there. Kyle Mayers got bowled by Chris Sole in the seventh over. They were reduced to 30/4.
Big partnership but not enough
Skipper Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran tried to do some damage control but it got worse. In the 13th over, Hope got caught behind off Safyaan Sharif's bowling. West Indies lost half their side for 60. Pooran's resistance ended in the 21st over. Mark Watt lured Pooran went for an erratic shot and got caught in the deep. Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd shared a crucial partnership to help their side get past 150. In the 37th over, Watt broke the partnership. Shepherd scored 36 runs from 43 balls. In the next over, Holder was trapped in front of the stumps by Chris Greaves. Greaves and Sole took one wicket each as West Indies got all out for 181 from 43.5 overs.
Good start
West Indies had not defended a total under 200 in the last five years and it was not going to change anytime soon. In addition, Scotland have had a good record while chasing of late. Holder gave West Indies a glimmer of hope when he got Christopher McBride's wicket off the first ball of the innings. But the smiles did not stay on West Indies players' faces for too long.
Cautious Scotts cross the finish line
Matthew Cross and McMullen were cautious against the new ball and did not get ahead of the game. They shared a 125-run partnership for the second wicket to push West Indies out of the contest. Shepherd broke the partnership in the 30th over. After a three-fer, McMullen scored 69 runs from 106 balls. At 125/2 in 30th over, West Indies needed a miracle and they did not get one. In the 40th over, Akeal Hosein got George Munsey's wicket but it turned out to be a consolation. Cross batted till the end and took Scotland home with 39 balls to spare. He scored 74 runs from 107 balls including seven fours.
“It really has to do with the attitude. The fielding is an attitude according to me, catches will be dropped and misfields will happen, that's a part of the game and I feel that we did not give 100% effort every time, we did it in patches. It starts with the foundation - from back home, the preparation needs to be better. We cannot come here and expect to be an elite team without preparation. You can't expect to wake up one morning and be a great team. We need to give the West Indian fans something to cheer about,” Hope said after the heartbreaking loss.
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