ICC World Cup Qualifiers: Sammy rues dropped chances in West Indies defeat by Zimbabwe

The West Indies team continued to drop catches at the ongoing ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, and were made to pay against the hosts. Head Coach of the West Indies team, Daren Sammy, has said dropped catches was the reason behind West Indies’ defeat against Zimbabwe on Saturday.
“Extremely disappointed. At the toss, we got to do what we wanted to do: that is, to bowl first. If we continue to display this kind of fielding…
“We have spoken about it for the last few games. You keep giving the best opposition batsman chances for the last few games. Eventually, the god of cricket will catch up with you; and it did today,” Sammy said. “With that said, 269 on that surface again, these are the things you try to change. We have seen it happen in the past, and the direction I want this team to move forward, today was really poor. It is about taking responsibility, and we did not do it today, and we did not deserve to win today.”
West Indies’ hopes of qualifying and going all the way are still alive. Sammy, who is a known motivator, has said he would challenge the guys to come back and do well.
“It does not hamper, but you would love to go in the Super Six with four points. We knew, from the time you left home, that game would be important to us. The way we played, I keep telling the guys we kept on winning games by not playing our best cricket, and today again we asked so much of ourselves when you put on a fielding display like this, and you get yourself in good positions and take the game for granted, the cricket gods would make you pay. That is what I will tell them in the dressing room.”
The Head Coach declared that the West Indies did not deserve to win against Zimbabwe after that poor performance. “We did not deserve to win. We did not play to win today, and now we have a lot of work to do. Firstly, to get to the Super Six and take on the other team. We have made our road to the 2023 World Cup a bit more difficult. I will not give up, I will challenge the boys to be better,” Sammy said.
Sammy also said Zimbabwe fed off the crowd today, and that boosted the energy of Raza et al. West Indies will be in action against Netherlands tomorrow, Monday June 26. (Brandon Corlette)