DRS use beyond my control

 (CMC) – WEST Indies captain Jason Holder has refused to be drawn on the issue of the absence of DRS (Decision Review System) in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers here.

The topic became a huge talking point after Richie Berrington was the unfortunate victim of an umpiring blunder as Scotland went down by five runs to West Indies under Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS), to miss out on qualification for next year’s World Cup in England.

With no option to review, the wicket swung the DLS calculation in the Windies  favour and when thunderstorms arrived four overs later, the Scots were short of the required par score of 130.

“That’s beyond my control. I think it’s a question for the ICC,” said Holder, when asked about the issue.

“At the beginning of the tournament, they set up the rules, and those are the rules we played with. It’s cricket. Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it goes against you.”

Television coverage of the qualifiers was limited, with only 10 matches broadcast – two in the preliminaries involving West Indies fixtures against Ireland and the Netherlands and seven in the Super Six second stage, along with the final.

Scotland’s captain Kyle Coetzer blasted the ICC’s decision not to utilise the DRS but Holder said there needed to be consistency.

“A lot of the games weren’t televised. So if you’re being consistent, if it wasn’t there at the beginning, you stick by it,” the all-rounder asserted.

West Indies suffered just one defeat in the entire tournament – to Afghanistan in their opening Super Six fixture – as they topped the table at the end of the second stage.

Following the defeat, they produced a pair of gutsy performances, firstly to complete their fifth highest successful chase in one-dayers to beat hosts Zimbabwe, and then to strangle Scotland after posting a mere 198.

Holder, who also oversaw West Indies’ outing at the last World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, said the achievement compensated for the difficult times the team had endured in recent years.

“We have been through a lot. We were bruised, we have been hurt and we have copped a lot of criticism in the past couple of years,” Holder pointed out.

“To come into this competition, where there was so much pressure and to produce the cricket that we have, to qualify for the World Cup is pleasing.

“I have been very anxious, and nervous. It has been the general feeling around the whole team. One thing is that we came together for the whole tournament that was the determining factor, we wanted the same result and we were fighting for the same cause.”

Holder has had a successful tournament, leading his side in both runs and wickets, and also displaying outstanding leadership.

West Indies face Afghanistan in tomorrow’s final.

 

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