With two qualification matches still to play, West Indies' defeat to Scotland on Saturday means they will not compete in the Cricket World Cup later this year for the very first time; Scots cruise to victory by seven wickets after Windies are bowled out for 181
Saturday 1 July 2023 16:44, UK
West Indies have failed to qualify for the Cricket World Cup for the first time in their history after a humbling defeat to Scotland.
Shai Hope's side suffered a limp loss in the qualifying competition on Saturday to see their hopes of reaching the tournament proper in India this autumn extinguished.
West Indies, who won the first two editions of the men's 50-over World Cup in 1975 and 1979, were bundled out for 181 in 43.5 overs before Scotland knocked off their target with seven wickets and 39 balls to spare
West Indies were on the brink of elimination after successive losses to Zimbabwe and Netherlands - the defeat to the Dutch coming after a Super Over in which their opponents scored a record 30 - and will now be a notable absentee in the subcontinent later this year.
They slumped to 81-6 inside 21 overs against Scotland with opener Johnson Charles and No 3 Shamarh Brooks dismissed for ducks by Brandon McMullen (3-32) and Kyle Mayers given a send-off by Chris Sole (2-43) after being bowled for just five.
Jason Holder (45) and Romario Shepherd (36) revived the innings with a seventh-wicket stand of 77 from 96 balls before the Caribbean team lost their final four wickets for 23 once Shepherd fell to a superb one-handed catch from Safyaan Sharif.
A superb 69 from Brandon McMullen helped Scotland recover from the loss of opener Chris McBride off the very first ball of the innings, with an unbeaten 74 from Matthew Cross, his 10th half-century in one-day international cricket, seeing the Scots home in cruise control. It was their first win over the Windies in ODI history.
Scotland now have two matches to play, against Netherlands and Zimbabwe, in a bid to secure a top-two spot in the Super Six group.
"To be honest, there is not one thing I can put my finger on," Hope admitted in response to West Indies' defeat. "We let ourselves down in the entire tournament.
"We knew it would be challenging. They (Scotland) played really well - credit must be given to them.
"The preparation needs to be better. We cannot come here and expect to be an elite team without preparation.
"We cannot expect to wake up one morning and be a great team. We need to find a way to bounce back. Lots to look forward to and we all have to go one way - that is up."
Speaking to Sky Sports about West Indies during the second Ashes Test, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said: "I got a chance to see the West Indies Test side in Australia last summer and it is quite hard to see that decline.
"Now not qualifying for a 50-over World Cup - who would have envisioned that 20 years ago? The powerhouse of world cricket going back 40 years ago.
"It just goes to show that if you don't look at your developmental areas, don't put money back into the grassroots, don't care about that and expect that you are going to keep producing great players, it just doesn't happen."
