Sammy rues “poor” Windies bowling following series loss to Bangladesh  

The West Indies suffered a 179-run loss at the hands of Bangladesh in the deciding 3rd One Day International in Mirpur earlier on Thursday. The Caribbean side, who were set 297 runs to win, were bundled out for 117 in 30.1 overs. 

West Indies head coach Daren Sammy was left unimpressed with his team’s spinners. “I'm really disappointed in the way we bowled,” he said. “When you come to Bangladesh, spinners should be licking their lips because that's the area where you will get to execute your plans in the most favourable conditions.”  

 Spinners             Wickets       Average       Econ
West Indies            18                 29.44            4.7

Bangladesh            26                 14.7             3.74

The visitors snatched a 1-run win via the super over in the second match of the series after losing the opener by 79 runs. “What we displayed over the last three games has not been consistent enough,” he continued. Sammy stated that his spinners' inability to capitalize on the conditions, presented the batters with a challenging task. “In all three games we allowed Bangladesh to score above par. I thought it was more like a 3.5 runs an over pitch. But every game we had to score at over four runs an over,” he said. 

One spinner he was full of praise for is Akeal Hosein. Sammy revealed the original plan was to have the T20 specialist feature only in the final game of the series after being flown in as an injury replacement just hours ahead of the second contest. Hosein, however, volunteered to feature and subsequently defended 10 runs in the super over to hand the West Indies a series-leveling win. “Yes, there's a place for competition,” Sammy said, hinting the 32-year-old’s display might have put him in contention for ODI selection. “The guy who's been out (of the format) for the last two years comes in and outshines [others],” he lauded.

Acknowledging the slow nature of the pitch, Sammy said, “We've never seen anything like it.” Yet that did not deter his assessment of the West Indies batters.  “Every time a challenge comes, we lie down and die. Except for when either Keacy Carty or Shai Hope puts their hands up,” he said. “It's not like one team bats on one wicket and then the other team goes and bats on a different one. We all had to play on [the same pitch]. And that's where skills and temperament come out.”

The West Indies will be hoping for a change in fortune when the T20I series bowls off on Monday morning Caribbean time.