Another One Day series, another West Indies special, this time against Bangladesh. You could set your watch by this level of predictable heartbreak. I suppose the positive is that the West Indies won on ODI, and they were not whitewashed, which is practically a moral victory these days. However, the usual self-inflicted chaos for fans was ever-present in winning that second ODI with a super over.
West Indies looked in trouble at 133 for 7 chasing 214 with 16 overs left. Justin Greaves then joined captain Shai Hope, and they brought the score to the sporting equivalent of "What could possibly go wrong?", needing 37 runs from 31 balls. But this is the West Indies, who never like to do things easily, where’s the fun in that?
At 177, just after the Bangladeshi commentator declared, "This is the West Indies' game to lose." Greaves managed to get himself run out in a dismissal that was so spectacularly unnecessary/The inevitable panic set in.
Akeal Hosein, the villain who would later become the hero, was then bowled with two balls left and three to get, executing a shot so senseless it deserved a police escort off the field. And so it was left to Khary Pierre, with one ball left and three runs to get. He was promptly dropped (because, of course) and scrambled two runs for the tie and the super over. Unbelievable, yet not surprising cricket by the regional team.
The Super Over was, naturally, the cherry on top of the anxiety sundae. West Indies, for some strange reason, sent the completely out-of-form Sherfane Rutherford to open, a move that made me wonder if the management was choosing names by drawing from a hat. Luckily, he did not waste time as he lasted just one ball; a fitting cameo. The eventual tally of 10 runs from the super over was not insurmountable, but competitive.
Enter the dependable, Hosein to bowl, and he immediately treated his team to two wides and an unforgivable no-ball. Bangladesh suddenly had six balls to make seven runs. Yet, in a twist of fate so perfectly West Indian, Bangladesh's own brand of chaotic cricket turned out to be just as bad as the West Indies and they won by a single, heart-stopping run. I suppose the fans would say a win is a win, but somehow, a better thought process has to go into West Indies cricket. I would not waste my time commenting on the other two ODIs because West Indies never showed up to play, losing by 74 and a whopping 179 runs, the second-largest winning margin by a Bangladesh team in an ODI.
So after this debacle, King Sammy spoke at a post-match press conference. I momentarily thought he was announcing his resignation, but how foolish of me. No, he was there to blast his players' performance as "poor and disappointing" (because, of course). He reiterated that his troops underperformed in almost every aspect of the game. Going into the final game, King Sammy mentioned to the players the importance of the match and criticised their performances on the pitch, which left a lot to be desired.
“I think it’s a mindset. When we explained in the dressing room what this game means, you know we’re looking for automatic qualification. We have two teams fighting for the last spot before the cut-off period, and then you have a series decider on the line”.
Wait a minute, King Sammy, whose job is it to install that mindset? Is this the coach of the West Indies or a deeply concerned member of the back-room staff? I would have thought a great motivator would have his troops mentally ready to fight fire with a flamethrower, not just a leaky garden hose. Let us, for a moment, forget ability. The players should, at the very least, go out there and fight for their country and give everything they have in their body and mind to do their best. Yes, mistakes would be made, but let us at least be in the right frame of mind.
The players and staff would have known the task before them, firstly in India and then in Bangladesh. Admittedly, two different formats, but it was known long before Mickey Mouse became a star that the type of pitches the West Indies team would have encountered. They could not be naive enough to think the authorities, especially in Bangladesh, would have given them an ODI pitch with pace and bounce or a flat surface that batsmen could have played through the line. Therefore, the preparation for this series should have been dedicated to playing spin bowling effectively and for the bowlers to bowl varying types of deliveries on a turning pitch. Instead, West Indies shows up, gets outspun by the local wizards, and then hears about "mindset" after the fact. I am wondering just how much preparation and hard work were done by the team.
I have and continue to look at various sports all over the world, and when you look at the English Premier League (EPL), managers lose their jobs every month based on results. You rarely, if ever, hear one hang their players out to dry and talk about their mindset. They say, "I picked the team, I take full responsibility for what transpired on the field, and we were simply not good enough."
King Sammy cannot, as in the past with some coaches, blame the selection panel because there is none; he is chief cook and bottle washer. So it is his team out on the field. It was a poor excuse for a coach to make and throw his players under the bus. As a motivator, players play for you; some go beyond their ability but make up for that in fight and spirit for their coach. If King Sammy says it is a mindset, he's basically asking the most damning question of all: Did he lose the dressing room?
Everyone tells me he is a very amicable gentleman, and to be honest, I really don’t know him; he seems very pleasant with a smile always on his face (except when the West Indies are losing), and was an excellent servant and captain for the West Indies in his day. But it would have been more acceptable and certainly more big-coach, if he had simply said “we were outplayed and just not good enough and I take full responsibility. Don’t tell your team, let’s go for a swim and then say there are sharks in the water. Oh no, King Sammy, stand up and be big enough to accept the blame, call Ruben Amorim from Manchester United and let him coach you in player management and how to overcome a crisis without blaming your players.
I note that the mindset is remarkably flexible for the T20 games; however, I will admit that the team is stronger with the inclusion of Jason Holder, Rovman Powell, and Jayden Seales, and winning the first T20 was important for morale. The second T20 was another win for Shai Hope and his men. Even though they made hard work of the victory by dropping four catches, the Bangladesh batsmen seemed to panic under scoreboard pressure.
King Sammy‘s team has the luxury of going into the final game having already won the series. I wonder what the mindset will be; hopefully, it will be to give 100% and take the series 3-0. The composition of the final eleven will be interesting. Rutherford’s confidence (even his catching) has completely gone, and young Ackeem Auguste is waiting in the wings, with the forgotten man Amir Jangoo (remember him?) also in the squad.
King Sammy can smile again, but the acid test starts on November 5 with the first of five T20s against New Zealand, followed by three ODIs and three Tests. Will King Sammy be smiling at the end of it all? Buckle up, turbulence ahead.
Editor’s note: The views expressed in the preceding article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of any organisation in which he is a stakeholder.
