Firstly, let me profusely and deeply apologize to any fans of my WI vs SA reports for not doing the needful on game 5 of that series. My disappointment at the result, coupled with the lack of surprise at the way we lost, was so completely overtaken by Euro & Copa America football and Wimbledon tennis that cricket temporarily exited my thought processes. In the interest of closing that chapter, however, I will let the following stats suffice. Evin Lewis totalled 178 runs in 5 innings; no one else crossed 75 runs in total. Quinton the Keeper scored 255 in his 5 innings which is the SAME TOTAL as Gayle, Pooran, Pollard, and Russell COMBINED. The much-vaunted “tried and tested winning formula” that would bring home the title “in this win-now mindset” quite simply failed. Oh, but we were consistent with our bowling, right? Of the 33 wickets WI took in the series, a mere FIVE fell to spin. That represents a glaring imbalance in my admittedly unseasoned eyes when I consider that SA took 31 wickets split 13 to spin and 18 to pace. So, there is MUCH to do.
Now the attention turns to the Men from the Land Down Under, whom we haven’t met in this format since 2014. At first glance the similarities are clear. Both teams field at least 10 players aged almost 30 or older; both have identical win/loss records in their last 5 games, and both are looking to settle on the right line-up as the T2O WC looms ever so closer. The difference? The Aussies’ elder statesmen have been far more reliable in recent times. Factor in also that this is by no means their BEST possible roster – names such as David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Kane Richardson, Jhye Richardson, Daniel Sams, and Steven Smith are all missing – and one would be quite foolhardy to take their depth of talent lightly. After all, THIS WI line-up is touted as OUR strongest ON PAPER…but team sheets, sadly, do not cricket matches win. The decision-makers in the WI camp need to solve the woefully exposed middle-order failures and strike a balance with the bowling unit that takes wickets but does so ECONOMICALLY while applying pressure from BOTH ends of the pitch.
As I pen this piece, we stand 3 hours away from the first ball tonight. I hope Messrs. Pollard, Simmons, Harper, and company find the Aces they’ve been looking for in the WI deck. Failure to do so even against a below-full-strength Aussie unit would sow even more concern amongst a regional fan base already fast approaching the limits of their patience and hope.
