A YEAR that began with a dream win on a raging Multan turner against Pakistan quickly unravelled into a run of insipid results across a punishing new World Test Championship cycle.
Up against Australia (blanked 3-0 at home), India (2-0 away) and New Zealand (2-0 away), West Indies found themselves outmatched and outmuscled all through.
The retirement of modern T20 great Nicholas Pooran reopened the leadership void in the format in which West Indies are strongest, while Test captain Roston Chase, too, struggled to sustain the consistency that had made him a credible candidate in the first place.
The women’s side endured heartbreak too. For the first time in 25 years, West Indies failed to qualify for the World Cup, edged out by Bangladesh on net run rate by a margin of just 0.01. A defeat to Scotland ultimately proved decisive.
HIGH POINT
It came late in the year, against all odds in seaming Christchurch conditions, when Justin Greaves batted West Indies out of defeat with a monumental 202 not out off 388 balls. An innings that began with his trademark flair transformed into a steely, self-denying knock, where he absorbed countless blows, faced more deliveries in one innings alone than he had in his Test career previously, and subdued his instincts with a resolve rarely seen in recent times. Comeback man Kemar Roach made 58 not out – his highest first-class score – while facing 233 deliveries himself, to save a Test they seemed destined to lose.
LOW POINT
There were several nadirs. Missing qualification for the Women’s World Cup will continue to sting, but the 27 all out against Australia in Jamaica, narrowly falling short of New Zealand’s 70-year-old record of the lowest innings score ever, may have been the most damning. It made Cricket West Indies convene former greats for a structural review. Even in West Indies’ preferred T20 format, a depleted side suffered a stunning 2-1 defeat to Nepal in the UAE, handing Nepal their first-ever series win over a Full Member. (Extracted from ESPNCRICINFO, written by Shashank Kishore)
