During the just completed five-match Twenty20 International series, West Indies was defeated by Team India by a score of 1-4. They were defeated in the fifth and final Twenty20 international by 88 runs on Sunday (August 7).
WI Head Coach Phil Simmons is of the opinion that the Men in Maroon have a significant learning opportunity ahead of the Twenty20 International World Cup. He addressed the issue of the batting department being their weakest link in the team’s overall structure.
Several WI legends & former players were special guests of CWI President Ricky Skerritt during the weekend matches of West Indies vs India at the Central Broward Stadium. Among them were Lance Gibbs, Lawrence Rowe, Desmond Haynes, Brian Lara, Shiv Chanderpaul and Ian Bradshaw. pic.twitter.com/BfR2090g7p
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) August 7, 2022
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What did West Indies’ Head Coach Phil Simmons say?
The West Indies batted poorly in both of the Twenty20 matches that were played in Florida, as shown by the fact that they were bowled out for 132 and 100 runs, respectively. The following is a comment from Simmons that was given at the post-match press conference, as provided by ESPNCricinfo:
“The most important thing is that we need to bat in a certain pattern. We need to be able to bat for the whole six overs [during the powerplay] and be aware of our batting strategy throughout that time. We have to put an end to losing wickets, and as soon as we do that, we will start racking up the runs.”
He added:Â “We have the players; Hetty [Hetmyer] shown that he is back to form; we have Rovman [Powell]; we have [Nicholas Pooran], who has done a little bit as we went on in the series; nevertheless, nobody has been consistent throughout the whole series. Therefore, I believe that what we need right now is consistency as well as a grasp of the condition of the game as well as knowledge of how we should play that.”
Before Nicholas Pooran and co. make their team selection for the Twenty20 World Cup, they will play New Zealand in a three-match Twenty20 International series beginning on August 11. The West Indies will need to figure out their best squad configuration and approach to the game.
