What a week it has been. First, we must pause to offer a standing ovation to Nicholas Paul. His performance at the Pan American Track Cycling Championships in Santiago, Chile, was nothing short of world-class.
With two gold medals secured through a blend of raw horsepower and tactical IQ, Paul remains the ultimate ambassador for Trinidad & Tobago in the cycling world. He carries himself with a humility that stands in stark contrast to his velocity. A tip of the cap is also due to the hard-working Teniel Campbell for her gold in the women’s scratch.
With a haul of six medals, T&T’s cyclists haven’t just represented the red, white, and black; they were addicted to the podium.
Turning our gaze to the pitch, I must also offer congratulations to the West Indies, who have won five straight games at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup. Congratulations to King Sammy on what the team has achieved thus far. Let the record show that I have historically been King Sammy’s most vocal critic. I make no apologies for that, as when the team produces “nonsense,” I consider it my duty to call it exactly that. However, one must give Jack his jacket, and Jim his boots—and right now, King Sammy has this team playing like tournament favourites. Before we toast the players, however, we must address the absolute absurdity of the ICC and this latest T20 World Cup tournament format.
In what universe does a premier sporting event pre-determine the second round/quarterfinals, regardless of actual performance? Where all four group-stage winners advance into one pre-determined Super-8 Group together, and the four runners-up at the group-stage go into another pre-determined Super-8 Group together? Let us try to break it down and see if we can make sense out of nonsense.
At the group stage, 20 competing teams were divided into four groups of five, and the top two teams from each group advanced to the Super 8 stage (which is comprised of two Super-8 Groups with four teams each). This is where Tommy Joseph comes into the picture. The eight top-ranked teams were assigned predetermined spots for the Super-8 Groups before the tournament started, regardless of the team’s performance in the group stage. They also put a replacement rule in place that if a lower-ranked or unseeded team qualifies for the Super 8 instead of a pre-seeded team, the qualifying team inherits the seed’s place and schedule in the Super 8 Group.
So the seeds for the Super-8 Groups were pre-assigned based on initial T20I rankings, fan engagement potential, and primarily to simplify travel and logistical planning for major teams. Pre-seeding meant top-tier teams (e.g, India, Australia, England) were assigned to specific slots regardless of their performances. The ICC says this system, which allows fans and broadcasters to plan for venues months in advance, was designed specifically to map out paths for high-stakes, high-revenue matches. How no one objected to this format when it was announced is also unbelievable. If FIFA ever adopted this “logic,” we’d see Brazil and Argentina facing off in the second round because a travel agent in Zurich thought it would save on jet fuel. It turns sport into a scripted soap opera where the plot is written by an accountant. Logistics 1 - Logic 0.
Bureaucratic rubbish aside, the West Indies team is currently shocking the world—and perhaps even themselves. This is the most consistent, disciplined cricket we’ve seen from the regional side in an era. I will give credit not only to the coach, but also to the players and, more importantly, to the planning and the execution of the games thus far. I wrote on February 12 that the move to send Shimron Hetmyer at number three was a sound decision, as it would have changed his mindset and he would have batted with more responsibility. When you bat at six or seven in a T20 game, you have an automatic licence to swipe at every ball, as no one cares at that stage whether you get out or not. At three, you have to pack a suitcase and stay a while, as the responsibility to bat deep and carry the innings has to be the main objective.
Fans can only hope that he continues in this scintillating form for the rest of the World Cup. Another smart move is to send the dangerous and aggressive Rovman Powell up the order at four. I particularly enjoyed the partnership between Hetmyer and Powell vs Zimbabwe as Hetmyer took on the spinners while Powell dealt with the pacers; in other words, they played to their strengths. As Powell said during the game, when Hetmyer got tired, Powell himself then took on the mantle, “that is what a partnership is all about,” he said.
Another encouraging aspect of the batting is the running between the wickets, taking sharp singles, turning ones into twos, and twos into threes. The fielding has also been nothing short of exceptional. It is truly refreshing to see them play intelligent and direct cricket. Skipper Shai Hope is still the main man, but there is a newfound comfort in knowing that if he fails, the sky won’t immediately fall and someone else will step up.
Admittedly, I was not happy with 165 vs Italy, but the bowling unit has been equally clinical, and every bowler has answered the call at various points throughout the World Cup. From Romario Shepherd’s historic hat-trick against Scotland to Shamar Joseph’s four-wicket, four-catch masterclass against Italy and Matthew Forde’s extreme stinginess (with an economy rate of 5.19 runs per over - third best in the tournament), the execution has been flawless. The spinners Gudakesh Motie, Akeal Hosein and Roston Chase (when he is used) have been excellent on the various pitches.
Again, the selection of the team to play, depending on the venue, has been well thought out. It is indeed refreshing to see this West Indies team playing; the team spirit seems high, they are playing for one another, they look confident, and they seem to be happy, enjoying their cricket. I honestly cannot recall when I last saw a West Indies team in this frame of mind, and long may it continue.
To the critics who say “you only beat Zimbabwe”—remember that this same Zimbabwe team recently bullied Australia and Sri Lanka in their own backyards. They aren’t “poor”; they were simply made to look that way by a West Indies team that has finally remembered how to win. I suppose the West Indies can look at areas where they can improve. Brandon King has much more ability than his scores suggest, but he can come good at anytime (I suspect he is saving his big innings for when it matters most), and the pacers can be a little tighter in their line and length if we are being super-critical and chasing perfection. Given the large margin of victory against Zimbabwe (beating them by 107 runs, resulting in a net run rate of +5.35), the West Indies just need one more win from their remaining two games to progress to the semifinals; although those two games are against arguably the two best T20 teams in the World in South Africa and India.
For the moment, the immediate test will be later today when they face a destructive South African team that possesses strength in depth in their batting with the dangerous Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock at the top of the order. But their real strength is their bowling. Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj and Corbin Bosch could very well be the best bowling attack in the tournament/world. West Indies will have to be at their best.
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 stakeholde.
