There is now much for the West Indies cricket team and its legions of fans around the globe to be encouraged by, despite the harsh reality of having already lost the current three-match ODI Series against India. The West Indies lost both of the first two matches of the series. The margins of defeat in both matches were, however, agonizingly close. India won the July 22, first ODI, by just three runs. In the second, played on Sunday, July 24, India’s victory margin was by two wickets with just two balls to spare.
The improvements shown by the West Indies team so far during the current India series and by comparison to its performances during the preceding three-match losing efforts against Bangladesh were as numerous as they are significant. The actual results of the matches for both the Bangladesh and India series are unimportant to the extent that they have no points bearing on the West Indies’ automatic qualification for next year’s ICC 2023 World Cup. Only the top eight ICC ranked teams will gain automatic qualification to the India-hosted 2023 World Cup.
While the results from the Bangladesh and India series will not count towards 2023 World Cup automatic qualification, those from the forthcoming series against the visiting New Zealand, which follows immediately, certainly will. In theatre parlance, therefore, the Bangladesh and India series should be regarded as mere dress rehearsals for the actual all-important three live ODI match shows against the Kiwis next month, on August 17, 19 and 21 at Barbados’ Kensington Oval, the mecca of West Indies cricket.
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