Abu Dhabi: The destructive Windies hasn’t arrived in the UAE yet for sure and that was clearly evident with the way they meekly surrendered to Pakistan in the third and final T20 at the Shaikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Having already lost the series, the intent was clearly missing to even play for pride.
The 3-0 whitewash also showed that the Windies’ weak link lay in adapting to condition not ideal for explosive batting. More than the spin, it is the slowness of the wicket that has troubled the visitors the most.
And when your top order batsmen get out to straight balls, then the problem is grave and needs urgent attention before it turns into a malaise.
It is understandable that you can’t expect a similar show that fans witnessed from the Windies during the World T20 earlier this year. The team is sans their vibrant leader Darren Sammy, the big hitter Chris Gayle, the aggressive Andre Russell, the rock solid Lendl Simmons and also the coach who took them to dizzying heights — Phil Simmons.
But those present here aren’t doing any good to the Caribbean cricket either. Take a look at the way Marlon Samuels paced his innings — unbeaten 42 off 59 deliveries. Clearly it isn’t the Samuels we know, especially, when the team is looking to post a challenging total.
Kieron Pollard known for swinging at everything hurled towards him especially toward the latter half of the innings also remained unbeaten on 16 off 17 balls, without a single hit to the ropes.
So with the contest being a dead rubber, either the Windies were already looking towards the ODIs and were keen on spending more time at the crease or there is a problem more than what meets the eye.
“Even though we lost the game, our guys are actually getting better. You can see some good performances coming up still,” said Kesrick Williams, 26, who made a dancing debut with wickets of Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif.
“It’s tough, it’s really tough … it’s really hot there and takes a while to get adapted to the conditions but we are tough cricketers and we always look to give our 110 per cent. Probably some played good cricket, kudos to them,” added the right-arm medium fast bower, who hails from St Vincent and the Grenadines.
“I just went out there with my mind free, not thinking that we lost the series. I enjoyed playing CPL and that’s what I did here tonight. I didn’t look at it as I was playing against Pakistan, or against Sharjeel Khan or whatever. I look at it like I’m playing cricket at home, don’t try to overthink it and do what I do best,” said Williams, whose hip-wiggling jig was the only entertainment for the Windies fans on the night.
“That celebration I formulated in the Caribbean when I got my first wicket. I just threw my hands in the air and I did a little thing, I put a little jig into it and it was known as the ‘Kesi-Bounce’. So I’m going to stick to that, it’s my thing, my dance, it’s the way I enjoy my cricket and whenever I enjoy my cricket I do well,” said Williams, whose team’s ODI challenge starts on September 30.
