West Indies fall to Netherlands, fail to defend 374

West Indies cricket sank to a new low on Monday with an embarrassing Super Over defeat to Netherlands in Group A of the ICC World Cup qualifier in Harare, Zimbabwe.

West Indies would have felt confident of victory after posting 374 for six, after being inserted to bat.

Trinidadian Nicholas Pooran lashed his second century of the qualifiers, cracking an unbeaten 104 off 65 balls (nine fours, six sixes). Brandon King (76) and Johnson Charles (54) added fifties.

But the Dutch, who lost an ODI series to West Indies 3-0 a year ago, refused to lie down. Aided by sloppy bowling, fielding, catching and captaincy, the Netherlands were on the brink of victory after slapping part-time spinner Roston Chase for 21 in the 49th over. With nine runs to win off six balls, pacer Alzarri Joseph took two wickets and conceded eight runs, to send the match into a Super Over.

Logan van Beek, the grandson of late West Indies, New Zealand and Trinidadian cricketer Simpson Guillen, then buried the West Indies' chances with 30 runs off Jason Holder in the Super Over.

Surprisingly, Pooran was absent from the Windies reply, with Johnson Charles and captain Shai Hope walking to the crease. Van Beek continued to haunt the maroon with a brilliant over, including the scalps of Charles and Romario Shepherd, to end the match in five balls.

The result pushed Netherlands up to second in the group, behind Zimbabwe. West Indies finished as the third and final qualifier to the Super Six phase, with two wins and two defeats. The two wins by the regional side came against Nepal and USA, who have been eliminated.

Hope's men are unlikely to qualify for the World Cup, as only points earned against teams that have qualified for the Super Six will be carried forward. Zimbabwe carry forward four points while Netherlands have two points. West Indies will start the Super Six on zero points.