When an all-conquering side hoists a major trophy, or a supreme athlete shows that uncanny feel for the big occasion to surge towards victory, fans and experts celebrate and cherish those moments. However, sport isn't just about champions. Instead, if we look beyond all those podium finishes, flashlights and glamour, you will find athletes who failed in their endeavour to attain the summit.
2017 - YEAR IN REVIEW
One step forward, several back for Windies in 2017
Shai Hope scored two memorable hundreds as the Windies scripted their first Test win in England in 17 years. © Getty
Even the greatest of athletes have faced shattering defeats, only to rebound from the tunnel of doom and gloom to reach the pinnacle. The greatest virtue a mind-numbing loss is to build on the lessons from such a defeat and use it as a motivating tool to climb the ladder of success. West Indies, once known for their Calypso brand of cricket, is one such side that has been in the midst of a string of losses for over two decades.
However, after suffering a series of losses, the Caribbean side showed a few encouraging signs during the year 2017. Under Stuart Law, the head coach, and Jason Holder, the captain, they won a Test against Pakistan at home and engineered a famous come-from-behind victory at Leeds against England. Despite ending 2017 with a slew of losses across formats in New Zealand, it was a year where the Caribbean outfit showed glimpses of lifting themselves from a prolonged slump.
Timeline:
Having been without a coach for four months, since the unceremonious sacking of Phil Simmons in September 2016, West Indies appointed former Australia cricketer Stuart Law as the new head coach of the team. The announcement came just a couple of weeks after Jimmy Adams, the former West Indies batsman, had taken over as the new director of cricket for West Indies, replacing Richard Pybus who had served for three years,
The year 2017 didn't start on a bright note for West Indies as they were whitewashed 3-0 in an ODI series by England in March. The formidable England side won all three games comfortably - 45 runs, four wickets and 186 runs - the margin of victories. Jonathan Carter (137) and Jason Mohammed (132) made useful contributions with the bat, while Ashley Nurse, the off-spinner, bagged six scalps.
T20s and West Indies walk hand in hand, however, Pakistan, who were starting their tour of the island country, pulled a rabbit out of the hat by winning the four-match series 3-1. Barring a devastating 91 off 51 balls from Evin Lewis's blade in the third T20I, there was nothing to beat home about for the hosts as they lost the other three games - two comprehensively, while Pakistan were made to break a little bit of sweat when they won the second contest by only three runs.
As the tour progressed into the 50-overs format, the hosts made a sprightly start by winning the opening game while chasing 309 to win. Led by a belligerent 58-ball 91 by Jason Mohammed, Windies tracked down a steep total to take an initial lead. However, insipid batting in the following games ensured that the tourists won the series, quite convincingly.
The Test series attracted a lot of eyeballs for it was the farewell series for two of Pakistan's greatest - Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan. And the series lived upto its billing as well with the final Test - which was also the decider - went right into the final moments of Day 5. With seven balls remaining and the final pair out in the middle, Shannon Gabriel went for a ridiculous slog to hand Pakistan the wicket and the series, most importantly a fitting send-off to the two stalwarts. In the second Test, after Pakistan had already won the opening game, Roston Chase emerged as the biggest highlight for the hosts scoring a masterful 131 after the top-order had crumbled. He followed it up with another hundred that almost saved the game, and ended the series with 403 runs and six wickets.
Windies were too brutal as they toyed with Afghanistan in their most favourite format of the game. Winning all three games with ease, Windies were propelled by Marlon Samuels's attacking 89 in the final game while paceman Kesrick Williams finished with eight wickets.
Afghanistan, though, managed to shock the hosts by pulling off a miracle by bowling out the Windies for a meagre 149 in a chase of 212 in the first ODI of the three-match series. Rashid Khan's back-breaking 7 for 18 knocked the wind out of the hosts to take a 1-0 lead in the series. However, the Windies came back in the second ODI by picking up a scratchy four-wicket win. The final ODI that would have decided the series though was marred by rain.
Towards the end of May, West Indies decided a change in name was in order. The West Indies team was rechristened as Windies while the name West Indies Cricket Board was done away with, as the board decided to take up a new name - Cricket West Indies. "For Cricket West Indies to operate effectively and efficiently we need all of our stakeholders to work in partnership and the name change is an important first step in our strategy," reasoned Dave Cameron, the president of the board.
When India toured the Caribbean in June for a five-match ODI series, they were smarting from the loss in the Champions Trophy final to Pakistan. Windies, on the other hand, had failed to make it to the multi-team event and were in danger of being denied an automatic qualification for the big tournament - the World Cup. Despite the slow-natured wickets, India managed to put up strong batting shows in the first three ODIs. Windies, on the other hand, couldn't quite match up, resulting in a 2-0 series lead for the tourists after the first game was washed out. Then came a commendable performance from the home team, in the fourth ODI. Despite posting only 189, with the batting letting them down again, skipper Jason Holder led a remarkable comeback with the ball, picking up a five-wicket haul to tie down India's famed batting order. MS Dhoni's 114-ball 54 summed up India's struggle to get the runs flowing and they eventually ended up being bowled out for 178 in the final over. However, Windies' resurgence was short-lived as a Virat Kohli ton in the final ODI helped India wrap up the ODI series 3-1.
The one-off T20I in Jamaica, however, was a totally different ball game as India were up against the T20 champions of the world. In a format Windies have favoured in recent times, they did not disappoint. While India posted a competitive 190 on the board, the total proved insufficient as Evin Lewis hit a blistering 125 not out off only 62 deliveries to help Windies chase down the target with 1.3 overs to spare.
Evin Lewis scored a mindboggling 125 off just 62 balls to down India in the one-off T20I. ©Getty
Since playing against Pakistan in September 2016, Darren Bravo hadn't seen any cricketing action. The reason for the same was his outburst on Twitter towards board president Dave Cameron, after being handed a Grade-C contract. The dispute lingered into 2017 before both parties decided it was enough. Cameron apologized for his "misstatement" during one of his TV interviews, in November 2016, which in turn had fuelled the Twitter outrage from the younger Bravo. In response, Bravo also admitted that his actions were "inappropriate" and apologized, to the President of CWI. With the issue resolved, it was announced that Bravo would be available for selection across all formats. But Chairman of selectors Courtney Browne did mention that his inclusion would be subject to "the cricket that he is playing." As it turned out, Bravo did not get to play any game for Windies in 2017.
Any suggestions of Windies successfully chasing down a target of 322 in a Test match at Leeds, would have been dismissed outright. But that is exactly what Windies achieved, thanks to terrific performances from Shai Hope and Kraigg Brathwaite - the former registered hundreds in successive innings while the latter missed out on the double by a narrow margin of five runs. Windies' performance in the second Test was astounding to say the least, especially considering that they had lost the previous Test, England's maiden day-night venture, by an innings and 209 runs - losing inside three days. After the Headingley encounter, Windies were expected to be enriched from the experience of winning a Test in England and grow from strength to strength. But it was back to square one as they lost the series-deciding final Test by nine wickets, managing 123 and 177 in the two innings that they batted. There was, however, some fight as they had bowled out England for 194 in the first innings but that was submerged in the eventual outcome of the game.
Windies, meanwhile, continued to impress in the T20s as they registered a 21-run win in the one-off game, with Evin Lewis continuing his good run of form. Chris Gayle too tormented the England bowlers with his quick-fire 40 before Kesrick Williams and T20 skipper Carlos Brathwaite and Sunil Narine combined to wrap up the game. The ODI series that followed, however, was a whole different story. With their qualification for the World Cup at stake, Windies had to avoid defeat at any cost but that is exactly what they failed to do as England ran away with a 4-0 victory, amid news of Ben Stokes's pub antics.
This was a series they badly needed. Windies entered Zimbabwe with the same squad they took to England and for a change, they were the favourites to begin with. They didn't make the ideal start in the first Test as they slipped from 174/3 to get bowled out for 219 but they went on to rubber-stamp their favourites tag by fighting back with the ball. Shai Hope stood tall once again and was aided by valuable contributions from the likes of Kraigg Brathwaite, Chase and Devendra Bishoo to help Windies win the Test. They went on to clinch the series following the draw in the second game.
An innings loss in the first Test, followed by a 240-run loss in the second totally demoralised the Windies in New Zealand. They failed to build on from their win at Headingley as their batsmen barring Brathwaite failed to show any sort of resistance in seamer-friendly conditions. More than anything, the fact that both the Tests didn't go into the final day would have hurt the visitors.
The ODIs that followed didn't provide any respite as well. They were expected to fare better in the limited-overs but the Windies batsmen continued to struggle as Trent Boult capped off 2017 with ten wickets in the series. They showed some fight in the opening game but lost the next one by a huge 204-run margin and collapsed to 99 in the dead rubber. Chris Gayle, who missed one game, didn't inspire the side in the other two. The batting department, in particular, needs a massive lift if the Windies are to put up a challenge in the World Cup Qualifiers next year in Zimbabwe. This series once again reiterated that fact.
To make matters worse for the Caribbean side, Ronsford Beaton, was reported for a suspect bowling action during the second ODI against New Zealand in Christchurch.
Promising performer - Evin Lewis
With a hundred against India in the one-off T20I, Evin Lewis showcased his cricketing prowess to the world. While there were fears that it could have been a flash in the pan, it didn't turn out to be the case. Having earlier scored 91 in a T20I against Pakistan, Lewis also shone in England, with knocks of 176 not out, and 76 in an ODI and T20I respectively, to end the year with 869 runs in ODIs and T20Is put together.
Best-performer - Shai Hope
Shai Hope was the best player of the West Indies unit for the year. He finished the year with 773 runs in Tests at an impressive average of 45.47, which included those twin hundreds at Leeds. He also compiled 600 runs at 33.33 in the 50-over format. Kraigg Brathwaite (706 runs in Tests at 37.15), the opener, and Shannon Gabriel (34 Test scalps at 28.73), the fast bowler, also deserve a mention.
Worst performer - Kyle Hope
Kyle Hope, the elder brother of Shai, had a wretched time with the bat. He could only muster 101 runs at 11.22 in the five Tests he played this year. Even in the 50-over format, he could compose just 138 runs at 23, and ended the year without a single fifty to his name.
Looking forward to 2018
West Indies have a crucial year ahead of them. The Caribbean side will aim to qualify for the 50-over World Cup via the World Cup Qualifier to be held in Zimbabwe in March 2018. It won't be an easy task as they will be up against Afghanistan, Ireland, Zimbabwe and much-improved associate sides - Netherlands and Scotland. Moreover, West Indies only won three of their 23 games in the ODI format this year. Other than that, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will tour the Caribbean region. West Indies are also scheduled to play three Tests, five ODIs and one T20I in India later in the year.
Andre Russell's ban for doping violation will end on January 31 next year. It would be interesting to see whether the powerful all-rounder will make it to West Indies' squad for the World Cup Qualifiers. Darren Bravo, who was sent home from a Zimbabwe tour in 2016 over a Twitter spat with Cricket West Indies president Dave Cameron, is expected to resume his Test career next year.
© Cricbuzz
| Share | Tweet |