Mahabir: Build WI team around youth

FORMER director of the West Indies Cricket Board (now Cricket West Indies), Baldath Mahabir, wants the West Indies to build the team around the youngsters, saying more of them should be brought into the team after the regional team played their last match of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup, yesterday.

West Indies ended the tournament with two wins, six losses and one no result from nine matches and currently sit in ninth place among the ten teams. West Indies ended on a high yesterday with a 23-run win over last placed Afghanistan. The regional team can finish in eighth place if Australia defeat South Africa convincingly, tomorrow.

Mahabir said, "I am not surprised, but at the same time I am still disappointed I think we could have done better. I am not surprised, because we went in as the tenth qualifying team and we came out in ninth place."

Mahabir said with better preparation and more situational analysis results could have gone in favour of West Indies, saying the regional team should have beaten Australia after being in a strong position.

There were some highlights for the West Indies as centuries by Carlos Brathwaite and 23-year-old Nicholas Pooran were impressive, while fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell got the opportunity to salute regularly with 12 wickets.

Pooran, Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer were the top run scorers for West Indies. Pooran, currently 11th among all batsmen, ended as the team's best batsman with 367 runs in eight innings at an average of 52.42 with one century and two half centuries. Hope, 25, scored 274 runs at an average of 34.25 with three fifties and Hetmyer, 22, cracked 257 runs with two fifties at an average of 36.71.

"I don't know what Cricket West Indies will do, but I would suggest that we start to build around our younger players. We see what Pooran given the opportunity did. Hetmyer, (Jason) Holder (should be around for a long time). I like (Shane) Dowrich, I like (Roston) Chase. If we start building a unit using those guys and (Kemar) Roach and Alzarri Joseph."

Experienced Chris Gayle, who plans to delay his retirement and play against India next month, was below par. Gayle averaged 30.25 after scoring 242 runs that comprised two fifties.

Left-armer Cottrell was surprisingly the leading wicket-taker grabbing 12 wickets with an economy rate of 5.85. His best bowling figures were 4/56 versus New Zealand.

Mahabir commended Cottrell, but said the strategy by some bowlers to bowl short at times did not work. "A very good tournament by Cottrell, but the support for Cottrell was not there. The experiment of Oshane (Thomas) and Shannon (Gabriel) was a failed one having failed to blast out the opponents."

Brathwaite and Thomas both ended with nine wickets. Brathwaite ended with an economy rate of 7.34 with top figures of 4/63 and Thomas, 22, had best figures of 4/27 with an economy rate of 6.53.

Captain Holder took eight wickets with his top figures being 3/42. He had a solid economy rate of 5.60.