BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – Despairing West Indies will look to the game’s shortest and most entertaining form on Sunday to gain some redemption from an otherwise depressing tour when they face Bangladesh in the lone Twenty20 International of the tour.
The makeshift side suffered clean sweeps in the preceding Test and One-Day International series and the T20I at Warner Park represents their last chance of walking away from the series with some pride intact.
Granted, the side was hastily assembled after the pull-out of the first choice players as the West Indies Players Association and the West Indies Cricket Board locked horns in another dispute over pay and contracts.
Additionally, the squad was a gathering of inexperienced players, shepherded by the veteran Barbadian batsman Floyd Reifer who also possessed limited international experience.
Even then, many West Indies fans would have been hoping for at least a win against the lowly rated Tigers but this proved elusive against a side who bowled, batted and fielded clinically.
Reifer echoed the sentiments of coach John Dyson, noting that inexperience had been the difference between the two sides in the series.
“It is a young team. They have got to continue to play, and play hard. We have got to continue talking to each other,” he pointed out.
“We have to look back at all the mistakes which we have made throughout the Test and ODI
series. Most if not all the games were very close, and it was just that we kept making crucial mistakes at crucial times.
“We are hoping for a bit of luck in the Twenty20 on Sunday, and hope we can put together one good game and win.”
Several exciting players should help them put on a good show in the T20I. Andre Fletcher gave a glimpse of what can be expected from him in his cameo half-century in the third ODI on Friday while players like Dave Bernard, Travis Dowlin and Darren Sammy can also score quickly.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, have outplayed the Windies at every turn. At points when it appeared as if the hosts were in winning positions, the Tigers turned the game around with extraordinary performances from both their batsmen and bowlers.
Inspirational Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan praised his players, noting that they had produced when called upon.
“Every time the team was under pressure, someone was able to put their hands up and do the job for the team,” he said.
“This success in the Caribbean will help to take us to the next level, and it will be a boost to our confidence very much. I think we can compare to the best of the sides which played previously.
“We did not play very well in the T20 World Cup, and so we will try to play our best game on Sunday.”
Bangladesh will start as favourites, especially with a side that bats all the way down.
They can expect a flying start from the likes of Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique but any collapse will be shouldered by the talents of Shakib, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah in the lower order.
What will work in the Windies’ favour is the unpredictable T20 format which could easily help them to their first win of the series.
WEST INDIES – Floyd Reifer (captain), Darren Sammy (vice captain), David Bernard, Travis Dowlin, Andre Fletcher, Rawl Lewis, Nikita Miller, Kieran Powell, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Devon Smith, Devon Thomas, Gavin Tonge.
BANGLADESH – Shakib Al Hasan, Imrul Kayes, Rubel Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Raqibul Hasan, Naeem Islam, Mohammed Ashraful, Mahmudullah, Mahbubul Alam, Junaid Siddique, Abdur Razzak, Tamim Iqbal, Mehrab Hossain, Syed Rasel.
