MANCHESTER - Having failed to replicate their success from the first game against Pakistan, West Indies need to win each of their remaining four matches to stay in contention for the semi-finals race.
West Indies have failed to combine as a team and produce match-winning results in their last few matches. Despite registering a par score of 321/8, Bangladesh chased down the total with 8.3 overs to spare as the bowlers failed to find their right lengths. Their senior players, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell haven’t produced any performance of note, putting the lesser experienced middle order under further pressure.
As the race to the semi-finals stiffens, Jason Holder’s men will need to put up a disciplined effort to rise against their dipping form and script a turnaround. New Zealand, on the other hand, have been steadily moving to a position of strength at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, winning each of their four completed games so far. While results against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka were a product of flair, their big players rising to the occasion saw them over the line against South Africa. Each of their three all-rounders, Jimmy Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme
In a batting order which is struggling to stitch match-winning partnerships, Shai Hope has been the glue designated to hold the innings together. The wicket-keeper batsman, who missed his century by four runs against Bangladesh, will hope to repeat his performance from the warm-ups, wherein he scored 101 against the Black Caps. Martin Guptill looked well set for a big score against South Africa, before being dismissed hit-wicket for 35. Guptill, who will have fond memories from the previous edition of the flagship event, where he scored a World Cup record 237* in the quarter-finals against West Indies, will eye for another big score.
It’s expected to be dry and warmer in Manchester on Saturday. Some patchy fair-weather cloud is likely to develop, but otherwise there would be a good deal of sunny spells. Results from the last two games played at Old Trafford might tempt both the captains to bat first.
Meanwhile, Caribbean great Clive Lloyd said the West Indies team under Jason Holder have failed to understand English conditions and paid the price for their one-dimensional tactics of trying to bounce out oppositions. “I was disappointed with the West Indies performance against Bangladesh,” Lloyd, who captained West Indies to World Cup triumphs in 1975 and 1979, wrote in a column for the International Cricket Council. “It would appear that they only have one way to play with no variation to their game plan. They are trying to blast people out and I don’t think they understand the English conditions. You cannot always do that here because the pitches during this competition have been batsman-friendly despite the rain. It might be green but it doesn’t always fly around.
Bangladesh were ready for that sort of onslaught and to chase down 320 with eight overs to spare is a great effort, but it is poor cricket by the West Indies.”
West Indies beat Pakistan in their opener but suffered a narrow defeat in their match against Australia when they failed to chase down a 289-run target. “They have themselves to blame if they miss the semi-finals, they should have beaten Australia and they definitely should have seen off Bangladesh as well. But the Bangladesh side did their homework and deserved their victory,” Lloyd said.