The West Indies Women Must Find A Way To Improve Their Dreadful Brand Of Cricket!

Rally around the West Indies? Sure, why not? But is there enough motivation?

Powerful. Mighty. Invincible. These are just some of the adjectives with which one described the West Indies men’s side back in the day. During the seventies and the eighties, you could be anyone, whether the impressive Australian side or the rising Indian side, the West Indies would just hammer you down.

They’d grind you to the dust.

You feared them. They were like a behemoth.

But the kind of cricket being played by the West Indies women’s unit as seen in this T20 World Cup of 2023 is anything but powerful or mighty.

West Indies women’s side seems pathetic, deplorable. Contemptuous even.

Truth be told, it doesn’t even appear whether the Hayley Matthews side ever reflects on the legacy that it represents in that day and age of the 21st century where sport is more than a profession; but is a parallel religion, a way of life.

To say that the current West Indies women’s side lacks talent would be like stating a misnomer of sorts, such as the Arabian Ocean is without water.

There’s a bunch of fine youngsters in Rashada Williams and Zaida James, whose excellence at the regional level merited a selection in the national team. But have they ever come good in any game so far?

In Shamilia Connell, Chinelle Henry and Shakera Selman, there’s a trinity of very fine medium pace talent that seemed capable of going beyond causing upsets in the last women’s ODI World Cup. But this time around, they’ve bowled like a bunch of amateur school girls, conceding one run too many in their very first over, thus allowing the opposition to get under the skin of the Windies contingent.

That Connell is so experienced- 61 T20 games- and still has let her team down must warrant some serious introspection by the bowling coach Courtney Walsh. In the game against England, the usual wicket picker collected figures of none for 19 from 2 overs.

But given their lackadaisical nature and easy going attitude, it’s doubtful whether the West Indians would have indulged in some soul searching.

It’s when it’s the kind of thing that’s so desperately needed

So comprehensively have the West Indies been beaten that they succumbed to a 6-wicket loss to India while a 7-wicket defeat to England.

In both these games, misfielding, lack of proper application whilst bowling and consuming too many dot balls exacerbated their woes.

The only bright spots, from the very little, we’ve seen is the kind of form Shemaine Campbelle has demonstrated.

The experienced Guyanese cricketer, who went past 1,000 T20I runs during the contest against the Indians, has so far made scores of 30 against India while a thoughtful 34 versus England.

The right-hander may not have collected her runs in blistering fashion but as one saw in that vital stand with Stafanie Taylor, Campbelle, who happens to be a fine sweeper, has held onto an end quite well.

It’s exactly the kind of support that Stafanie and Hayley need at this time. But the sorry part is that even if the West Indies do go on to collect a win versus Ireland, the game due to begin later today (at Cape Town), it would be a victory that comes much too late in the campaign.

In tournaments like the World Cup, there’s less of a scope for a late bloomer. You’ve got to display a sense of urgency where every run saved, boundary curtailed and big wicket taken amount to something special in the end.

And unfortunately, the West Indies women have only disappointed on all these fronts.