West Indies’ elimination from the ICC World Cup 2023 qualifiers on Saturday has sparked a lot of debate regarding the downfall of the team. One side is criticising the West Indies Cricket board for neglecting the players and their needs while the other side is pointing fingers at the players for prioritizing the franchise leagues more than international matches. The Shai Hope-led team was thrashed by Scotland in the Super 6 match of the World Cup Qualifiers by seven wickets and got knocked-out of the race for the marquee event, for the first time in history.
Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez took to Twitter and slammed the West Indies board for not providing proper infrastructure and facilities to their players, which has led to their downfall.
“Downfall of West Indies cricket should be a lesson for all. Nothing is granted in the professional world. Infrastructural development & right management of the players arer important ingredients to stay tall at the international level. Two times world champions are out of the cricket world cup 2023,” tweeted Hafeez.
Downfall of West Indies cricket should be a lesson for all. Nothing granted in professional world. Infrastructural development & right management of the players r important ingredients to stay tall at international level. Two times world champions r out of the cricket worldcup…
— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) July 1, 2023
Scotland staged a major upset in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers on Saturday, defeating twice World Champions West Indies in a Super Six clash by 7 wickets. The once cricketing giants not only slipped to a new low with the loss but also failed to ensure qualification for the ODI World Cup, which is set to be hosted by India later this year.
The defeat marks the first time since 1975 that Caribbeans failed to seal World Cup qualification. Scotland shone with both bat and ball at Harare, producing a remarkable performance to crush the qualification hopes of the Caribbeans
This result ensures that West Indies, who were crowned champions of the world in 1975 and 1979, can, at best, finish with only four points in the Super Six stage of the tournament.
Scotland’s emphatic win was driven by exceptional display from their bowlers and a 125-run stand between Matthew Cross and Brandon McMullen.
Chasing 182, Scotland lost a wicket off the very first ball, when Christopher McBride hit a low full toss from Holder to the mid-wicket. Any hopes of further breakthroughs were put to rest by Cross and McMullen as their steady stand yielded 40 runs in the powerplay overs
With ANI inputs
Topics mentioned in this article