The curious case of the 'flightless' Kiwis

T20s: Loss Loss ODIs: Loss Loss Win Loss Loss Tests: Loss Loss

Yes, there has been no less than a Tsunami on the Carribean islands as the Kiwis have literally been washed and blown away and bombasted by the team from the Carribean. The struggle has been no less than that of a Tsunami-struck victim, the only probable difference being that that the Kiwis have been able to forge ahead with wry smiles on their jaded faces.

Although the results might dictate a different story, yet, it’s not that the West Indies have been the most formidable side for the past decade or it’s not that the Kiwis have been the worst over time. In fact, West Indies has been ranked at no.8, just a spot above lowest ranked Bangladesh and one below the Kiwis. New Zealand had tied a Test Series with Australia not very long ago. West Indies cricket was all over the place with embarrassing defeats and the enigma of Chris Gayle adding salt to injury.

If the return of Gayle bolstered the top-order, the magic of Narine, the pace of Roach and the tactics of Deonarine did the rest with World No. 4 batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul hardly having to do anything other than warm the benches. But, this again, was not something which the Kiwis should not have failed to combat. But they did exactly that. Throughout the summer, it has seemed as if the Kiwis can do nothing right. They just haven’t gelled as a unit.

Neither has Ross Taylor been able to find the mid-wicket boundary, nor has the pace duo of Kyle Mills and Tim Southee uprooted the stumps on a regular note. It’s hard to point fingers particularly at a person or two as the Kiwi performance has been a collective debacle. On the other hand, the West Indians have had a collective team spirit to boast of, throughout the summer. Yes, Chris Gayle has been the wrecker-in-chief for the Kiwis, but the others haven’t been as dependent on him as the IPL‘s Royal Challengers Bangalore. In fact, Gayle’s failure in some matches has hardly affected the team as they have had the services of Smith, Bravo, Russel, Roach, Narine and others when most needed. And this is something to worry about for the Kiwis.

They are on the verge of ending an embarrassing campaign, returning home with just one win from the entire six-week long tour of the islands and having faced the ignominy of being the only team to be white-washed by the West Indies in ten years. They, sadly, have proved to be as flightless as the Kiwi bird.

With the tour of India coming up in less than a month’s time, the Kiwis have to erase all haunted memories of the Carribean disaster and focus on the future. There’s lot to work out for Ross Taylor and his young New Zealand team.