West Indies endured the worst possible start to their Twenty20 World Cup qualifying campaign when they suffered a shock 42-run defeat to minnows Scotland, in their opening match at Bellerive Oval on Monday.
Asked to chase a less than imposing 161 for victory, West Indies’ batting once again let them down badly, the innings imploding for 118 with nine balls remaining, to leave the two-time former champions with a mountain to climb in order to reach the main draw of the tournament.
All-rounder Jason Holder top-scored with 38 from 33 balls at number seven but he was the only one to pass 20 as left-arm spinner Mark Matt (3-12), along with off-spinner Michael Leask (2-15) and seamer Brad Wheal (2-32) bowled brilliantly to hurt the innings.
Opener George Munsey had earlier top-scored with a Man-of-the-Match unbeaten 66 from 53 deliveries as Scotland rallied to reach 160 for five from their 20 overs.
Fast bowlers Holder (2-14) and Alzarri Joseph (2-28) spearheaded the Caribbean side’s attack, but Munsey proved invaluable at the back end helping Scotland to gather 43 runs from the last five overs.
West Indies lie bottom of Group B and face a must-win scenario in the next game on Wednesday against Zimbabwe who beat Ireland by 31 runs on Monday.
“I think it’s just too many soft dismissals. I think as batsmen you have to pay a lot more attention to your wicket,” lamented West Indies head coach Phil Simmons.
“And I think every time we play we are up there with the run rate. It doesn’t matter who we are playing against, but we keep losing wickets and soft wickets.
“So I think that I’ve been trying to remedy it for the last couple of months. Doesn’t seem like it’s there yet.”
The left-handed Munsey handed Scotland a flying start after they were sent in, helping to add 55 from 38 balls for the first wicket with Michael Jones (20), in between a rain break in chilly conditions.
Holder broke the stand when he got Jones to play on in the seventh over and Scotland lost three wickets for 31 runs before Munsey, who struck nine fours, partnered with Calum MacLeod (23) in a 31-run, fourth wicket stand to revive the innings.
When two wickets went down for eight runs in the space of nine balls, Munsey combined with Chris Greaves (16 not out) in an unbroken 35-run, sixth-wicket partnership to frustrate West Indies.
Facing a straightforward run chase, West Indies raced to 53 for one in the sixth over despite losing left-hander Kyle Mayers for 20 in the third over, holing out to mid-wicket off pacer Josh Davey.
Brandon King (17) and opener Evin Lewis (14) were rebuilding when the innings inexplicably fell apart, seven wickets tumbling for 26 runs in the space of 45 balls, to leave the run chase in strife at 79 for eight in the 14th over
Lewis swung Wheal to deep square in the sixth over, King missed a cut at Watts and was bowled in the eighth over before captain Nicholas Pooran perished seven balls later, mid-judging the length, missing a pull and having his stumps shattered by Leask.
Holder tried to produce a rearguard effort, striking four fours and a six but he was last out in the penultimate over with all hope virtually gone, holing out in the deep off pacer Safyaan Sharif.
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