It was a disappointing year in terms of One-Day Internationals (ODIs) for the Caribbean team as they played four ODI series, including the World Cup qualifiers, and failed to record a series win.
The ever-reliable Shai Hope led the 2018 ODI batting charts for the West Indies with 875 runs, averaging 67.30 while the explosive Shimron Hetmyer amassed 727 runs at an average of 40. Jason Holder, who climbed into the all-rounder rankings, scored 405 ODI runs in 2018 and grabbed 21 wickets.
The West Indies team finished as the second best team in the World Cup Qualifiers; Afghanistan and the Caribbean team qualified for the 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) 50-over Cricket World Cup. West Indies started their 2018 ODI campaign with a resounding 60-run win against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the World Cup Qualifiers. Hetmyer was the star of the show scoring a match-winning 127 that came off 93 balls. Veteran Windies player Chris Gayle also
Shai Hope
scored a century in addition to Jason Holder’s five-wicket haul. Victory continued for the Windies as Holder’s monumental 99* helped his team claim a six-wicket win over Papua New Guinea. Carlos Brathwaite also excelled with a career best 5-27 in the same Qualifier match.
The third Qualifier match for the Windies belonged to Jamaican Rovman Powell, who powered his way to his maiden international century as Windies cruised to a 52 run-win over Ireland. It was expected for the West Indies to dominate the World Cup Qualifiers as they trounced Netherlands by 54 runs in the next match, thanks to an Evin Lewis 84 and contrasting half-centuries from Marlon Samuels and Powell. After a winning streak, West Indies bumped into an Afghanistan road-block where they lost twice to the same opponents. Afghanistan humbled Windies by three wickets on the first occasion and in the returning fixture which was the final, Afghanistan won by seven wickets.
Bangladesh then toured the West Indies to play a three-match ODI series, and the Windies team were defeated by a 2-1 margin. The first match was played at the National Stadium Providence, where Bangladesh won by 48 runs on the back of a spectacular Tamim Iqbal 130*. In the second ODI, Guyana was lit as the Windies registered a narrow three-run win. The showstopper was Shimron Hetmyer who backed up his half-century in the first match with a breathtaking century that entertained the Guyanese supporters. With the ODI series locked 1-1, the teams had all to play for in the series decider in Antigua. Bangladesh held their nerve and defeated West Indies in their backyard with an 18-run win as the ever-consistent Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal smashed another match-winning ton. Hope, Powell and Gayle scored valiant half-centuries, to no avail.
West Indies then travelled to India in the latter part of 2018 to play five ODIs against a powerful India team. It was a series filled with positives from the West Indies, but a 3-1 margin of defeat tells a different story. The Caribbean team scored 322 led by Hetmyer’s career-defining century, which was overshadowed by a Virat Kohli master class that saw India winning by eight wickets. In the second ODI, West Indies were in the driver’s seat, but were unable to cross the hurdle as the match concluded in a tie. Hope’s century was insufficient for West Indies to
Shimron Hetmyer
register a rare victory. However, a win was not too far for West Indies as they completed a 43-run win in the third ODI. The ever-consistent Hope scored 95 while Ashley Nurse’s all-round brilliance polished off a Windies victory. After the first three matches, that was all for the West Indies as Kohli and his team took control and registered a 224-run win and a nine-wicket win in the final two ODIs.
Different country, same teams, similar results; that was the story in the West Indies ODI series in Bangladesh. Bangladesh relived their 2-1 ODI series win in the Caribbean in July 2018 after the series’ winning moment in the final ODI in December 14, 2018 in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Bangladesh won the first ODI by five wickets, but Windies bounced back with a four-wicket win after Hope’s career-best 146 off 144 balls.
In the final ODI match of 2018 for West Indies, Hope continued his brilliance, playing a lone hand and scoring 108*, but he watched his team be restricted to 198-9. It was easy going for Bangladesh as they ended Windies’ 2018 ODI misery with an eight-wicket win.
With 2019 swiftly approaching, and the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in May-June in England, West Indies will have to improve – not only improve but find a recipe to win matches on a consistent basis, to become a top-tier ODI unit.
