The two-time world champions West Indies start the qualifiers today against the UAE who won their opening encounter against PNG on Sunday comfortably.
The Caribbean side maybe described as a group of players hurting big time and unhappy to be playing the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 because they believe they belong among the top sides.
The match which is being played at the Old Hararians Sports Club in Harare will
Chris Gayle going hard in the nets ahead of today’s clash (Windies media photo)
see the West Indies getting their first chance to be among the 10 teams at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in the tournament for the second tier ODI teams.
Windies were the champions in the first two editions of the World Cup, in 1975 and 1979, and made the final in 1983. But their graph has been on a downslide in more recent years. As a result, they are in the qualifying competition.
Many followers might expect them to just blow away the opposition, but the reality could be very different. Indeed, Windies were anything but dominant in their warm-up games.
In the first, against Afghanistan, a strong bowling performance led by the pacemen was followed by a dismal show with the bat as Windies, chasing 164, were bowled out for 110. Only two batsmen got starts then, Evin Lewis (36) and Marlon Samuels (34).
The batting didn’t get much better in the second game, as UAE, led by returns of
Windies Captain, Jason Holder is determined for opening success against the UAE (Windies media photo)
4/16 from Imran Haider, the leg-spinner, stopped them at 115 in 33.4 overs. It’s another matter that UAE’s batting faltered too, wrapping up at 83 as Nikita Miller picked up 5/20 with his left-arm spin.
Chris Gayle, the star batsman, has so far scored 9 and 16, and apart from the knocks from Lewis and Samuels in the first outing, the top score has been 20, by Shimron Hetmyer against UAE.
Those will be concerns for sure. Even more so because Windies start their campaign against the same opponents who shot them out for 115 and have since started the competition proper solidly with a 56-run win (DLS method) over Papua New Guinea.
UAE rode on a top score of 95 from Rohan Mustafa, the captain, and 50 from Ashfaq Ahmed to put up 221 before bowling out PNG for just 113 as Mohammad Naveed ran roughshod over the top order on his way to returns of 5/28, his career-best one-day international haul.
Key players
Rohan Mustafa (UAE): The 29-year-old UAE captain might not have the greatest numbers, but is one of the key cogs in the team’s wheel. He has the ability to give his team good starts, as he did against PNG with a 136-ball 95, and is a useful off-spinner who often provides key breakthroughs and usually keeps the opposition quiet. If the big-hitting Windies batsmen get going, Mustafa and Ahmed Raza, the left-arm spinner, will be crucial for UAE’s chances.
Chris Gayle (Windies): The big man isn’t quite the unstoppable force he once was, but every once in a while, he breaks loose to show what sort of damage he can still do. He hasn’t taken off in Zimbabwe yet, but UAE will be wary of him for sure, knowing full well that if Gayle gets going, the game could go out of their hands very quickly. (ICC)
