On the strength of their pasting at the hands of South Africa in their latest Cricket World Cup match, the West Indies are in serious trouble against strong opponents.
In the course of their defeat by 257 runs, the West Indians at times looked clueless and unable to stop the bleeding, especially in the face of AB de Villiers’ aggression with the bat.
Usually, when looking to apportion blame after such a defeat, one individual who must take some responsibility is the captain.
However, in his side’s defeat, there was little more that Jason Holder could have done, and instead the focus must be on those more senior players around him.
The 23-year-old was thrust into the captaincy having played less than 30 one-day internationals, with the West Indies Cricket Board saying they were looking to build for the future.
There is no doubt of his talent as a cricketer with both bat and ball, and he may well turn into a very good player in future years.
In this game, he looked very impressive early on to deliver eight overs and take 1-40, having taken the wicket of Quinton de Kock and bowled two maidens.
However, his final two overs fell apart in the face of De Villiers’ relentless hitting, and he conceded a whopping 64 runs.
That in itself does not look good, especially considering that he bowled a number of no balls, but with a batsman in such form, it is perhaps unsurprising that he was taken apart so well.
What is worrying is that the West Indians showed very little fight in their reply as they looked to chase down a mammoth and virtually impossible target of 409 for victory.
The top order fell away early, with Chris Gayle dismissed for just three in the second over to give his side the worst possible start given his hitting abilities.
Marlon Samuels pushed at a ball he could have left and was caught behind, while Lendl Simmons should have reviewed a decision to give him out leg before wicket off Imran Tahir.
The only player in the top seven to come out with any real credit was Dwayne Smith, who hit 31 off 34 balls from his spot at No. 1 in the order.
However, even he was guilty of throwing it away, as he holed out to long on going for another big shot and saw David Miller take a brilliant catch.
Once again, it was left to Holder to try to salvage some pride, and he did so with a well-made 56 from 48 balls to help his side avoid their worst ODI defeat ever.
His teammates must surely look at themselves and their efforts with the bat, but Holder is in an unfortunate position.
While he is still learning his own game, he must also learn the nuances of international captaincy and balance the responsibilities of a very tough job indeed.
Of course, it does not help that the likes of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard were left at home by the WICB but given the circumstances, Holder is doing his best.
With two pool games left against India and the United Arab Emirates, they should be in a good spot to qualify for the next round.
Unfortunately, that will not mask the problems that swirl around West Indies cricket, of which Holder is a victim.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1DZiLYF
via IFTTT February 27, 2015 at 05:50AM
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