West Indies end World Cup Qualifiers with defeat

WEST Indies ended their International Cricket Council World Cup qualification tournament with an eight-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in Harare, Zimbabwe on Friday.

Even a win against Sri Lanka would have seen West Indies miss out on the World Cup later this year in India, after multiple defeats earlier in the qualifiers.

It is the first time West Indies, two-time winners of the World Cup, will not compete at the tournament.

Sri Lanka, one of two teams which qualified, limited West Indies to 243 all out in 48.1 overs.

At one stage West Indies looked as though they would be reduced to less than 200, as they were 123/7 in the 29th over. Keacy Carty showed resilience, hitting 87 off 96 balls with six fours and one six to lead a fight-back. Romario Shepherd (26) and Kevin Sinclair (25) made contributions.

Maheesh Theekshana (4/34) and Dushan Hemantha (2/49) were the best bowlers for Sri Lanka.

In reply, Sri Lanka eased to victory closing on 244/2 after 44.2 overs. Pathum Nissanka cracked 104 off 113 balls with 14 fours, and Dimuth Karunaratne scored 83 off 92 deliveries. The pair added 190 for the first wicket.

Summarised scores:

WEST INDIES 243 (48.1 overs) (Keacy Carty 87, Johnson Charles 39; Maheesh Theekshana 4/34, Dushan Hemantha 2/49) vs SRI LANKA 244/2 (44.2 overs) (Pathum Nissanka 104, Dimuth Karunaratne 83) Sri Lanka won by eight wickets.