BRIDGETOWN: West Indies’ Amir Janghoo admitted his team “didn’t deserve” another ICC Men’s ODI World Cup qualifier but conceded their batting woes left them in a tough position after their third straight loss to New Zealand.
West Indies suffered a miserable one-wicket defeat in the fourth ODI in Barbados on Sunday as New Zealand take a 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
The defeat ensured that the Caribbean side, who had already missed out on direct qualification for 2023, would have to qualify for the 2027 ODI World Cup through a re-qualification tournament.
West Indies qualified automatically for the 2019 World Cup but failed to reach the 2023 tournament after a disappointing qualifying run.
They now face another high-pressure qualifying campaign early next year, with a chance to keep their hopes alive in the three-team Super Series ahead of the World Cup.
Despite the setback, Jangoo believes the team has enough talent to compete at the highest level.
“The quality in this team, I don’t think we deserve to go to the qualifiers,” said Dzongoo.
“This is who we are. But we know the quality in our dressing room. We see all the bowlers, even the young Vittal Love, making a breakthrough in this series. So that’s a big sign. Now we just have to play the right cricket and get those wins on the board for the West Indies,” he added.
Jangoo, who missed the third ODI in Guyana, returned to the playing XI and helped the West Indies to 188, scoring 51 off 73 balls.
The hosts came close to keeping the score modest as Gudakesh Moti took a superb 5-47, but New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner steered his side over the line after a late dropped chance proved costly for the West Indies.
However, West Indies’ batting continued to disappoint, with the team being bowled out in 44.1 overs after being bowled out in just 36 and 37.1 overs in the previous two matches.
“We haven’t batted 50 overs in three games now,” Jangoo said. “So I think it’s up to us, as batsmen, to look within ourselves and see how much better we can be. We have one more game to fix that.
“(It’s a) tough pill to swallow because we know how much is at stake here for this game. So it’s about understanding where we went wrong. We know the quality in our team. Going forward, we know what we have to work on and we’ll be ready for the qualifiers,” he said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand are making an impressive comeback after losing the first ODI in Guyana.
The visitors responded with two hard-fought wins on challenging pitches in Providence before another tense chase in Barbados to seal the series.
The closing stages added another memorable chapter for spinner Jayden Lennox, who had already taken nine wickets in two wins in Guyana, with New Zealand needing nine more on Sunday.
Lennox survived 10 balls during a crucial 26-minute partnership with Santner, including negotiating a maiden over from Lawes with the score level.
“There were nerves, but I think Santner’s a very inappropriate character, so for me, it was great to soak up a little bit of that quiet energy,” Lennox said.
Lennox praised Mark Chapman for his 82-ball 80 with 4 sixes that laid the foundation for New Zealand’s successful chase.
“That kind of knock is all about speed,” Lennox said.
“It’s always tough to lose a couple (wickets) early on and then when you assess the conditions, soak up a bit of pressure and then counter-punch, it puts a bit of responsibility on them and they have to be more disciplined and find a way to control what they did at the back end to an extent,” he concluded.