ICC World Cup 2019: West Indies SWOT analysis - Gayle, Russell factor, Shai gives Hope
The big players in Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Nicholas Pooran are all back and suddenly, this side has become one of the most exciting teams.
West Indies were forced to play in the qualifiers prior to the main event, they did that, emerged as the best team and are now a force to reckon with at the World Cup. Many believe that the boys from the Caribbean will be the team to watch out for, they have firepower with the bat, decent bowlers and on their day, can trip any opposition.
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It has been a mixed bag as far as the recent results are concerned - They smashed Ireland in each of their two games in the tri-series, but were defeated comprehensively on all three occasions by Bangladesh, including in the final.
The big players in Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Nicholas Pooran are all back and suddenly, this side has become one of the most exciting teams.
Strengths:
• Top Order’s recent form- Top Order averaging 65.45 in 2019, the best for any side.
• Big Hitters that can accelerate – The presence of Gayle, Russell & Hetmyer can change the course of the game very quickly. Russell & Hetmyer make it to the list of Top 10 of Highest SR in ODIs among active players. (Min 500 balls faced)
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Weaknesses:
• Poor Spin Options– Ashley Nurse, their lead spinner has a bowling average of 41.6 & poor SR of 46.9. Fabian Allen has just 1 wicket in 7 ODIs that he has played.
• Mediocre record in England – Won just 1 of the last 14 ODIs in England since 2009.
Opportunities
• Chance for Shai Hope to announce his talent on the biggest stage – Only Virat Kohli (59.57) & Babar Azam (51.67) have better Batting Avg. among active ODI players than Hope (51.06). (Min 50 innings).
• Have a chance to set their record straight – Haven’t qualified for the semifinals of the World Cup after 1996 & with such aggressive batsmen in the side, big totals might just take them through to the business end of the competition.
Threats:
• Unpredictable batting – Average just 27.15 post CWC 2015, with 71 50+ scores, the least for any World Cup side.
• Inexperience could hurt them – More than 50% of the squad has played less than 50 ODIs.
