The West Indies cricket team suffered a historic blow when they failed to qualify for the Cricket World Cup for the first time. Scotland delivered the two-time winners a thrashing, falling by seven wickets in the qualification tournament on Saturday.
The Caribbean team, desperate for a win to keep their fragile prospects of qualifying alive, could only generate 181 runs in their allotted 50 overs. In Harare, Zimbabwe, Scotland chased down the target with 6.3 overs to spare.
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Shai Hope’s men are now without a point, with only two games remaining in the Super Six stage. In the competition, they had already lost to the hosts, Zimbabwe, and the Netherlands.
The absence of the West Indies, one of cricket’s traditional powerhouses, will be noticeable in the forthcoming global one-day tournament, which will be hosted in India from October 5 to November 19.
Scotland’s victory is sweet retribution for their agonising and contentious loss to the West Indies in the previous World Cup Qualifier in 2018, which resulted in their elimination from the main event. It is their first one-day international victory over the West Indies.
Scotland is currently just two points behind Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in the standings, with the top two sides poised to qualify for the 10-team World Cup. Scotland’s destiny in the tournament will be decided by their final two games against Zimbabwe and the Netherlands.
After winning the toss and deciding to field first, the Scottish seam bowlers gave the West Indies an early blow, dropping them to a total of 81-6. Brandon McMullen, a young all-rounder, was instrumental in the victory, removing the top three West Indian batsmen: Brandon King, Johnson Charles, and Shamarh Brooks, and finishing with figures of 3-32 from nine overs.
Despite a brief comeback by Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd, Scotland’s spinners kept the game under control. Safyaan Sharif beautifully caught Shepherd off Mark Watt’s bowling, while Chris Greaves trapped Holder lbw three balls later. The West Indies’ last four wickets were lost for 23 runs.
Holder gave his squad a ray of optimism when he dismissed Scotland opener Christopher McBride on the first delivery of their innings. However, a 125-run second-wicket stand between McMullen and Matthew Cross placed Scotland comfortably in control of the match.
McMullen eventually dropped for 69, but the game had already been decided. When Scotland required 20 runs to win, left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein bowled George Munsey, leaving Cross to drive Scotland home with an unbeaten 74 off 107 balls.
The West Indies’ exclusion from the 2018 World Cup is a severe blow to the tournament’s proud legacy. They had competed in every previous edition and had won the first two championships, held in 1975 and 1979.
