Rally Around the Windies: 3 Reasons to back the West Indies at the 2019 ICC World Cup

West Indies are the two-time champions of the ICC World Cup and had won the inaugural edition in 1975 and then in 1979. These titles came on the back of some stupendous performances led by their skipper Clive Lloyd, Sir Viv Richards and the famed pace battery of Roberts, Garner, Holding, Croft and Marshall. Since their 1983 finals loss to India, the team is yet to make it to a World Cup final. The long-running feud between the Board and the cricketers has meant that cricket in the Caribbean has suffered and the quality of players coming through the system isn’t yet up-to-the-mark. But hopes do abound for the Windies in the 2019 World Cup and in this article, we discuss three reasons why they have what it takes to upset the apple cart and return to the summit of international cricket.

Jason Holder: The Glue that binds the team: -

o   When he took over as the youngest-ever Captain of the West Indies team in 2014, Jason Holder was regarded by many as being an accidental captain of a team in terminal decline. Since then, through a painstaking process of rebuilding, Holder has shown immense man-management potential and cricketing nous to slowly rebuild the West Indies team. This is despite the absence of many established names such as Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine. The recently-concluded ODI series against England an evidence of how well Holder has done to take this West Indian side to this level with the resources at his disposal. His all-round abilities as a doughty and powerful right-hand bat and his accurate and quick pace bowling make him the team’s focal point. This World Cup, expect Holder to live up to his surname and hold the hopes of the Caribbean together.

Chris Gayle: The last hurrah for the Universal Boss: -

o   Very few batsmen today polarise opinions on the scale that Chris Gayle does. He’s often criticised for becoming a hire-for-gun T20 league mercenary and for his sheer laziness and casual approach to the game, but when he’s in the mood, very few batsmen can match-up to the destructive force of the Universal Boss. The 2019 World Cup will mark the final opportunity for Gayle to lift the 50-over title as he would be retiring from ODIs after the tournament. If his recent performance in the England series is to be taken as evidence, then it’s safe to say that every opposition attack will be kept on their toes during the World Cup. Gayle’s mere presence remains an intimidating factor for any bowler till date and West Indies would be hoping that the World Cup can serve as the perfect final hurrah for the Universal Boss and that he goes on to play a starring role in a victorious campaign.

Power across the Squad: The Abundance of Power-Hitters and Brute Pacers: -

o   West Indies, as a cricketing side, has over the years seen some magnificent power hitters and tearaway pacers make their way into the team and establish themselves as mainstays of the team. Even in the present day, this team is blessed with some amazingly talented players who have taken the cricketing world by storm. Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo form a fearsome batting quartet along with Gayle and all of them are blessed with differing capabilities. Lewis and Hetmyer are regarded as brutal hitters of the cherry and Hope and Bravo being capable of dropping anchor when required. In addition to this, they have the all-round abilities of Andre Russell and Carlos Brathwaite which make that batting order extremely fearsome. Also, after a long time, West Indies has a pace attack that can, on good days, bully the best sides into submission, with Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas along with Jason Holder and Keemo Paul in the background forming a fiery pace pack which can steamroll the best batting line-ups.

With the kind of talent on offer in this West Indian side, hopes abound that the Fires in Babylon will be reignited and burn stronger than ever.

 Credits: - My originally-written piece on Sportskeeda (Original Article)
Location: Gurugram, Haryana, India

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