A story of disparity for T20 giants Windies
Mon, Jul 17, '17
Yes, there may be a few more moments of brilliance on the field of play that could translate into greater competitiveness at Test and One-Day International level especially, but where is the evidence suggesting the presence of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine automatically translates into a more successful West Indies team?If this so-called truce is real, if the reconciliation as expressed by both Cricket West Indies president Dave Cameron and Darren Bravo is sincere, then it is to be welcomed. It has been an entirely unnecessary and unedifying spectacle unfolding over the past eight months, serving only to expose the inability of grown men to settle a straightforward matter for the greater good of the game and the people who expect much more from their representatives on and off the field.However it takes a whole lot more than that to transform a deep-rooted culture of defeat, a state of play to which all of the aforementioned superstars will be intimately familiar.A story of disparity for T20 giants WindiesBefore the start of the ICC Women's World Cup 2017, it was predicted that Windies would find it hard to make it to the top-four unless they could punch above their weight and take some of the top sides by surprise. There was plenty of flair, power and panache, as is expected with a Caribbean team. However, the inconsistencies went hand in hand and thus condemned Windies to a sixth place finish at the end of the league stage of the 50-over competition in UK.
Comprehensive losses in their first four encounters - against Australia, India, South Africa and New Zealand respectively - effectively ruled out Windies' semi-final hopes midway during the tournament. Victories against Sri Lanka and Pakistan followed but all it did was to provide some solace to their already squandered campaign, which finished with another one-sided loss to England, as Windies failed to match their efforts of 2013, when they made it as far as the summit clash.
