World Cup 2019: West Indies - The dark horse who never arrived at the derby

In the build up to ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, there was a consensus among fans and experts that India, Australia and hosts England would comfortably make the semi-finals while the fourth spot was open to be occupied by one of the remaining teams. Interestingly, most pundits backed West Indies to edge ahead of the likes of South Africa and New Zealand who have consistently put up formidable performances in recent World Cups.

Facts were there for everyone to see - West Indies entered the tournament as the 7th ranked ODI team and only just made it to the World Cup as the second team from the Qualifiers where they lost the final to Afghanistan. But their potential was valued beyond facts and in terms of the number of match-winners they 'possessed'. Out of nowhere, they became everyone's favorite 'dark horse' pick for the World Cup.

'Possessed' here is the key word. Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, and Carlos Brathwaite. This list oozes X-factor- the ever-popular T20 catchphrase. All of them own multiple lucrative contracts in T20 leagues worldwide for their ability to win games single-handedly.

Oh, what a mouth-watering prospect to have all these T20 superstars line up in the same XI for an entire World Cup! Hang on, what's wrong here? Has T20 been mentioned thrice already? And where's ODI? How many ODIs have they played for West Indies over the past couple of years? Not too many, but we should surely manage to recall atleast one outstanding performance from each of them (except Gayle) to win an ODI in their career. No? We're only getting started here.

Chris Gayle, the Universe Boss, is an all-time Windies great. His statements may seem over-the-top at times, but his numbers reveal the reality. He is 54 runs away from surpassing Brian Lara's tally of 10405 runs who is West Indies' leading run scorer in ODIs. Given Gayle's high-risk batting approach epitomized by his penchant for six-hitting (no one has hit more sixes than him in the history of international cricket), this would be a remarkable achievement.

However, it is fair to say that at this stage of his career, he is no longer feared as much in ODI cricket as he is in the shortest format. There is a sense of inevitability about his dismissal at some point even when he gets into overdrive; bowlers can attack him for longer periods of time and he frequently falls for a quickfire 50+ score which on its own, is not good enough to win an ODI.

Evin Lewis is known more for his exploits in T20 cricket and owing to patchy form along with some injuries has found himself in and out of the one-day side. Nicholas Pooran is a very promising talent and has shown glimpses of his clean hitting throughout this World Cup but has failed to convert his starts into meaningful contributions.

Andre Russell despite carrying a variety of injuries, tried his best to add fire to the pace attack but his body let him down just when his team needed more of him with the ball. Having said that, he seriously let Windies down with his batting as he recklessly attacked too early, picked the wrong bowlers for the same and did not consider the significantly longer boundaries in England as compared to those where he hit sixes for fun in the IPL.

While Carlos Brathwaite can claim to have finally added another reason to remember his name, he would be the first to admit that both his shot selection with the bat and execution with the ball were ordinary on at least two other crucial situations this tournament.

Brathwaite's 101 vs NZ will remain as one of the brightest spots of WI's campaign

In a nutshell, the point is that these are special cricketers who were picked on the basis of their ability to create extraordinary impact on a game of cricket. Unfortunately though for the West Indies, they discovered it the hard way that 30-ball innings or 4-over spells do rarely create that impact in a 50-over match; such efforts need to be sustained for longer.

What about the other players in their squad?

Captain Jason Holder along with Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Sheldon Cottrell, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas and Ashley Nurse form the core of players who survived from the pool which has featured more often for Windies since the last World Cup. The likes of Sunil Ambris (picked later as replacement), John Campbell and Roston Chase missed out despite good performances while Darren Bravo was relegated to the bench when the board's new selection committee decided to recall their T20 stars into the squad.

These are the players who brought Windies into the World Cup through the Qualifiers. But these are also the players who were part of the team when no one expected them to compete and their ICC ranking reflected their performances.

Hope is by far the most technically proficient Windies batsman currently across formats. His role in the ODI team is an obvious one - to anchor the innings at No. 3 while everyone around him show-offs their flamboyance. Holder plays a crucial role at No. 6 in a fragile batting lineup where he is required to rebuild after a collapse more often than provide a finishing kick and is relied upon to do both for the team.

Hetmyer and Thomas, blessed with natural ball-striking ability and the gift of extra pace respectively, are perhaps more in the mould of T20 utility cricketers who happened to establish themselves in the West Indies ODI team before attracting interest from leagues across the world.

Cottrell has been West Indies' most consistent performer this World Cup

All of them have had a decent World Cup with the exception of perhaps Cottrell who has enjoyed an outstanding one. But it is worth looking back at the times when West Indies either won, or came closest to winning the matches they lost: Russell's fiery spell against Pakistan followed up by Thomas; the Pooran-Hetmyer partnership against Australia; and Brathwaite's stunning century against New Zealand.

That they created these opportunities is testament to the fact that the addition of these T20 matchwinners made them a far more dangerous side than what they would have been without them - the one which was looked down upon by the rest of the world.

The selectors picked a team which they felt gave West Indies the best chance to win the World Cup and to be fair, on paper this team looked like an enviable mix of superstars. And this is precisely the reason why so many people felt this WI team had a really good chance of going the distance this year.

Merely 'possessing' the Gayles, Russells, Poorans and Brathwaites may intimidate the opposition, but at some point, West Indies needed those moments of brilliance to become periods of dominance.

On numerous occasions during this campaign, Windies have kept the opposition wary of the "What if?" question. What if Gayle bats for 50 overs? What if Russell vents out his IPL frustration by batting for 20 overs at the World Cup? What if Pooran continues crunching those drives and pulls without skewing one up in the air against the run of play? What if Hetmyer's leg-side hoicks find the gap on every attempt? What if Hope bats in the tournament like he batted in the warm-up against NZ? In fact, what if they rack up scores above 400 every time just like that same warm-up game? What if Russell doesn't break down in the middle of a fiery spell? What if Thomas runs through your batting lineup? What if they actually hold on to the catches?

Sadly, it never really came together for the men from the Caribbean. In hindsight, even their victory over Pakistan can be partially attributed to Pakistan beating themselves rather than being beaten by the opposition.

So, where do they go from here? Surely, they can't rely only on their T20 stars for continued success in ODI cricket and this is where they should persist with Hope, Holder, Roach and Cottrell for consistency. West Indies just need to find the ideal balance between aggression and control in their team. Also, it is extremely important to build towards the next World Cup with a relatively stable core comprising the best available players now that selection issues have been sorted out. The best way for their players to learn and adapt to 50-over situations is by playing the format for a sustained period of time.

West Indies still have two matches to go, against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. The fact that they are no longer in contention for the semis may actually free them up to play an entertaining brand of cricket which only they can and they would be keen to give their fans some good memories from this campaign.

It wasn't to be this time for Holder's men and they will be disappointed, no doubt. But they should seek inspiration from the fact that after a long time, they are being perceived as a genuine threat in one-day internationals and exciting times lie ahead for West Indies cricket.

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