3 major areas where West Indies must improve after being knocked out from 2023 World Cup race

The West Indies (WI) were officially knocked out of the 2023 World Cup race after suffering a seven-wicket loss to Scotland in the ongoing qualifiers. This was the third successive defeat for the Caribbean side, after humiliating losses against Zimbabwe and the Netherlands. This will be the first-ever ODI World Cup to not feature the two-time champions.

After winning the 2016 T20 World Cup, the West Indies failed to qualify for the 2017 Champions Trophy, finished ninth in the 2019 World Cup, won only one game in the 2021 T20 World Cup, and failed to qualify for the 2022 T20 World Cup. The decline of the West Indies is not just limited to white-ball cricket. They finished eighth in both cycles of the World Test Championship.

It has been a significant downfall for a team that is considered one of the most storied sides in world cricket. The West Indies were a dominant force in the 1970s and 1980s, a phase during which even a single loss was considered a massive upset for them. Their cricket has gradually declined due to years of mismanagement and has officially hit rock bottom now.

On that note, let's take a look at the three major areas where they must improve moving forward.

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#1. Overemphasis on T20 cricket

The problems in West Indies cricket are not new. Since the turn of the century, the Caribbean side has been one of the most inconsistent sides in the world. In spite of winning the 2012 and 2016 T20 World Cups, the team has consistently performed poorly in 50-over and Test Cricket. However, neither players nor the cricket board has made any efforts to focus on the longer formats of the game.

The likes of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, and Andre Russell have dominated T20 cricket for years. However, after the retirements of the likes of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Brian Lara, they have not managed to produce a single world-class player in Test and ODI cricket.

Even in their bowling attack, barring Jason Holder, there is a lack of a standout player that matches the standards of teams like Australia, England, India, New Zealand, etc. Thus, their immense focus on the shortest format has meant that they have struggled with the longer formats.

#2 Issues between the West Indies Cricket Board and the players

Several West Indies players over the years have had issues with their cricketing board. Players like Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shimron Hetmyer, etc, have often had or continue to have long hiatuses from international cricket, owing to differences with the board. Even the current squad that played the World Cup qualifiers was without the services of Russell, Narine, Kemar Roach, and Hetmyer.

These continuous problems with their star players have meant that the West Indies seldom play a full-strength squad in any of the major tournaments. Often, the issues have been related to payments and thus the star players have prioritized the cash-rich T20 leagues around the world over national duties. This leads to the the team playing weak teams in various international events, leading to early exits.

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#3. Regular poor bowling and fielding displays

The West Indies have been known to produce some of the best fielders and bowlers in cricket history. The likes of Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, and Darren Sammy have often produced stunning fielding displays that would change the course of matches.

However, the current side is nowhere close to that level. After their defeat against the Netherlands, Windies head coach Darren Sammy stated that they were the worst fielding side in the World Cup qualifiers.

In addition to this, the West Indies bowling attack has generally been below-par. The famed bowling attack was once headlined by the likes of Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Curtly Ambrose, etc., while today, it fails to defend scores as high as 375 against a side like the Netherlands.

A bowling attack consisting of the likes of Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Roston Chase, Akeal Hosein, and Romario Shepherd, simply does not inspire any confidence. The team must try to give more exposure to these players to improve and actively urge the likes of Kemar Roach, Sunil Narine, and Andre Russell to return to the national side to add some potency to their attack.

With that, we complete our piece on three areas where the West Indies must improve after their failure to qualify for the 2023 World Cup. Can you think of any other reasons? Let us know in the comments section below.