On Saturday, July 1st, West Indies cricket sunk to a new low as they were knocked out of the race to qualify for the World Cup 2023 in India.
The champions of the first two ODI World Cups in 1975 and 1979, West Indies will not make it to the WC 2023, which is the 13th edition of the tournament.
In the Qualifiers Super Six round in Zimbabwe, West Indies lost to Scotland by 7 wickets in Harare to seal their fate. Not only it was an embarrassing loss to an Associate nation, but it was one which gave Windies cricket and their fans a sickening blow.
In Group A of the qualifiers, they were grouped with Zimbabwe, Netherlands, USA and Nepal. They started the tournament with wins over USA and Nepal, but lost to Zimbabwe and Netherlaands. Even though they qualified for the Super 6 round, West Indies were behind Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Scotland and Netherland, because such is the format of these Qualifiers that the qualifying teams take points gained over those teams that qualify into Super Six. Windies had 0 points now in 2 matches.
Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe had 6 after their first wins in Super Six with 2 more games to go. For West Indies, they had to win vs Scotland in order to remain alive in the race for the WC. However, a loss to Scotland means that they can at most reach 4 points and would be behind Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. The top teams from Super Six will qualify for the WC 2023.
This shambolic exit of Windies from the WC 2023 stunned everyone. But, their downfall in white-ball cricket has been going on for a while. They had barely made it to the 2019 WC after rain helped them in the qualifiers in 2019. In the 2022 T20 World Cup, Windies failed to reach the Super 12s.
Fans and ex-cricketers reacted with different emotions on this news of West Indies not making the World Cup 2023:
Scotland to West Indies pic.twitter.com/xsAtRXmtr9
— rae (@ChillamChilli) July 1, 2023
Their players will keep playing more of league games and make more money 🤨
— FIN TRACKER 📈 (@SlayerSystem) July 1, 2023
What a shame. West Indies fail to qualify for the World cup. Just shows talent alone isn’t enough, need focus and good man management, free from politics. The only solace is there isn’t further low to sink from here. pic.twitter.com/dAcs3uufNM
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) July 1, 2023
The highs of 1970's to lows of 2020's.
A day to forget in West Indies cricket. pic.twitter.com/bcFYl94Gvm
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 1, 2023
– No West Indies in 2017 CT.
– No West Indies in 2022 T20 WC.
– No West Indies in 2023 ODI WC.Cricket needs a strong West Indies but the downfall is sad & tough to digest in the last few decades. pic.twitter.com/vZ5JgXXbIC
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 1, 2023
I love West Indies
I love West Indian cricket
I still believe they can be the No.1 team in world cricket!— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) July 1, 2023
Toughest times for West Indies cricket!
The land of Richards, Lara, Sobers, Gayle, Chanderpaul, Pollard, Bravo unable to make the World Cup. The downfall of 2 times champ, West Indies. pic.twitter.com/kBmoSJ1xj9
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 1, 2023
In Affectionate Remembrance
of
WEST INDIES CRICKET,
which died in Zimbabwe
across
June and July 2023
Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing
friends and acquaintancesR.I.P.
N.B.—The body will be cremated
and the ashes taken to the Netherlands and Scotland.— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) July 1, 2023
Team liked by many globally missed out on T20 World Cup and now misses out on 50 overs World Cup beaten by Zimbabwe, Netherlands and Scotland. If things don’t improve , we might not see West Indies again in ICC events for a very long time in future.
— Prasanna (@prasannalara) July 1, 2023
West Indies’s fall to miss the 2023 ODI World Cup isn’t just a story of Caribbean woe but also the wider improvement in the game. The irony is this has come exactly during an era of the 10-team ODI World Cup
— Tim Wigmore (@timwig) July 1, 2023
West Indies are out of the World Cup. Even though it isn’t surprising…given how their standards have fallen in the last few years…it’s still a little disappointing to see the erstwhile champions of cricket to become a spectator for a world event.
Change is the only constant!!!— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) July 1, 2023
https://twitter.com/ofc_ammar/status/1673658052380176385?s=20
The West Indies didn't just lose to Scotland, they were brushed aside. The whole is a tiny fraction of the sum of the parts now. I hope every player is looking within rather than sideways because while I am overjoyed for Scotland, the West Indies lost rather substantially to…
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 1, 2023
Just got asked if the time has come for a line to be drawn in the sand for West Indies cricket but had to admit that the sands of time for West Indies cricket might have run out, or be very close to running out #CWC23Qualifiers
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) July 1, 2023
Sad that West Indies won't make it to the 2023 World Cup. Perhaps the concept of West Indies has become counter-productive and they should play as individual nations like T&T & Jamaica. Yes, they'll suffer initially, but better in the long run at least in T20s.
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) July 1, 2023
West Indies cricket over the years pic.twitter.com/vNs89VYiim
— oliver (@jaynildave) June 27, 2023
Saddest news today is West Indies failed to qualify for the World Cup 2023.
— Makarand Waingankar (@wmakarand) July 1, 2023
