3 things West Indies can learn from Netherlands and Sri Lanka
The Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2023 in Zimbabwe is set to come to an end, but what a thrilling ride it was! While Sri Lanka strolled through to take the first-place finish and the first spot in CWC 2023, the Netherlands, against all odds, secured the second spot. Hosts Zimbabwe, Scotland, and the mighty West Indies failed to make it to the main event.
Interestingly, it was the West Indies that were the first of those three sides to be knocked out after their defeat against Scotland. There was a lot that went wrong with their tournament, and there's plenty to dissect for Darren Sammy and his team.
Here are three areas of the game where the Windies faltered and where they can learn from Sri Lanka and the Netherlands.
#3 Closing games out with the ball
The West Indies' inability to finish games off with the ball is probably the most direct reason they're out of the 2023 Cricket World Cup, with that one game against the Netherlands springing straight to mind.
After a very cohesive batting effort saw them post 374/6 on the board, the West Indies inexplicably let the Netherlands score close to 200 runs in the last 20 overs of the match despite their quality bowling lineup.
Logan Van Beek's blitzkrieg at the death and in the Super Over helped the Netherlands secure a dream turnaround as WI's hopes were shattered.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka seldom let the opposition get away from them, with Hasaranga, Mahesh Theekshana, and Lahiru Kumara simply too good for most opponents.
However, it was surprising to see the West Indies struggle to tie down opponents with the ball despite possessing a quality pace attack in predominantly seamer-friendly conditions.
#2 Not losing wickets in a heap
Another major issue that the West Indies faced was their tendency to lose wickets in a heap and their inability to form more than 1-2 decent partnerships in an innings.
As it is, the contributions from their top order were few, and when the likes of Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran couldn't find a stable partner to bat with, it massively affected the Windies' batting.
Very rarely did any of the other WI middle-order batters like Roston Chase or Jason Holder stay at the crease long enough to build a substantial partnership with Hope or Pooran.
In contrast, the Netherlands' batting depth served them very well throughout the tournament. Even in the worst of circumstances, they somehow found a way to score some crucial runs and build partnerships with a batting lineup that extended up to No. 9 or No. 10.
#1 Respecting the new ball bowlers
The conditions at Harare and Bulawayo predominantly assisted the seamers in almost every match, and there was rarely a game where the new ball bowlers didn't pick up a wicket or two.
The two Sri Lankan openers, Dimuth Karunaratne and Pathum Nissanka, expertly handled the opposition's new ball bowlers in most game, and, as a result, feature among the top five run scorers of the tournament.
Even Max O'Dowd and Vikramjit Singh from the Netherlands showed better application at the crease than any of the WI top-order batters did.
Whether it was Kyle Mayers, Johnson Charles, or even the more in-form Brandon King, the West Indies constantly lost wickets early on in their innings, leaving Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran to do most of the work.
Whether it was a case of them playing in T20 mode in ODIs or not having the necessary focus early on in the innings, this lapse of concentration made things tougher for their team.