Caribbean leaders urge region to rally around West Indies

Fri, Jul 7, '23

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — Caribbean cricket fans have been urged to "rally around the West Indies" despite the Caribbean side being dumped out of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup in India later this year.

The two-time world champions failed to qualify for the event after missing out on one of the two spots available in the qualifying tournament now taking place in Zimbabwe.

West Indies lost to the host nation and Netherlands in the group stage, before going down to Scotland in their opening game of the Super Six stage, to suffer elimination.

They play Sri Lanka in a game of academic interest on Friday.

Speaking at the end of the annual Caribbean Community (Caricom) summit here on Wednesday night, Dominica's Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit noted the Facebook page of Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley after the West Indies lost to Netherlands, despite scoring 374 runs.

Rowley described the game as the "worst cricket match ever played by a West Indies team," adding "this amateurish demoralising embarrassment has to stop.