West Indies miss out on ICC ODI World Cup for the first time in 48 years after heavy defeat against Scotland

The West Indies cricket team experienced a new low on Saturday with an seven-wicket hammering at the hands of Scotland in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualifier Super Six match in Harare. The defeat meant West Indies missed out on the ICC ODI World Cup — a tournament that they have won twice — for the first time in its 48-year history. Matthew Cross (74 not out) and Brandon McMullen (69) led the way for Scotland as they chased the 182-run target set by West Indies down with plenty of wickets and 39 deliveries to spare. McMullen had earlier starred with the ball, grabbing 3/32 as the Shai Hope-led side were bundled out for a sub-par 181 at the Harare Sports Club after being invited to bat by Scotland. After Scotland lost opener Christopher McBride for a golden duck, McMullen and Cross steadied the chase with a 125-run second-wicket partnership, putting them on the path to victory. Cross remained unbeaten in the end, guiding the team home in the company of skipper Richie Berrington. [caption id=“attachment_12814362” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Matthew Cross and Brandon McMullen played a central role in Scotland’s comfortable chase of the 182-run target set by West Indies with a 125-run second-wicket stand. AP[/caption] It was Scotland’s maiden victory over West Indies in One-Day Internationals. West Indies entered the Super Six stage of the World Cup Qualifier without a point to their name, having lost to Zimbabwe and Netherlands — the two teams that progressed to the next stage from their group. Not only were Windies left needing a victory in each of their three outings, they also needed other results to go their way for them to secure a top-two finish at the end of the Super Sixes. With two more matches left, even if West Indies win, they can reach up to four points while Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe already have six points in their three games. Scotland with this win are on four points and would reckon that an upset can help them sneak into the tournament-proper. Windies skipper Hope questioned his side’s attitude across the tournament following the defeat. “To be honest, it’s not one thing I can put my finger on. We certainly let ourselves down in the tournament,” Hope told the broadcaster after West Indies’ shocking exit. “It really has to do with the attitude. The fielding is an attitude according to me, catches will be dropped and misfields will happen, that’s a part of the game and I feel that we did not give 100 per cent effort every time, we did it in patches. “It starts with the foundation from back home, the preparation needs to be better. We cannot come here and expect to be an elite team without preparation. You can’t expect to wake up one morning and be a great team,” he added. [caption id=“attachment_12813982” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd reacts after getting dismissed during the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Super Six match against Scotland in Harare. AP[/caption] It appears to be the final nail in the coffin for a cricket team that has been on a terminal decline for the past two decades. West Indies had won the first two editions in 1975 and 1979 under Clive Lloyd’s captaincy and finished runners-up in 1983 against India. It would then reach the semi-finals of the 1996 World Cup, where they would suffer a narrow loss against Australia in Mohali. The West Indians had also managed to reach the quarter-finals of the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, where they were knocked out by Pakistan and New Zealand respectively. West Indies had also failed to reach the Super 12 stage of last year’s T20 World Cup — a tournament that they’ve also won twice, under current limited-overs coach Daren Sammy’s leadership. Incidentally, Scotland was also responsible for their early elimination last year, defeating them by 42 runs in Hobart during the group stage before Ireland knocked them out with a nine-wicket thrashing. All-rounder Jason Holder, whose painstaking 45 off 79 deliveries was the best batting performance among the West Indians on Saturday, likened the disaster in Zimbabwe to their heartbreaking exit from the T20 World Cup last year. “This one definitely hurts as the last one did. We haven’t played well enough in the last few days. There has been too many fluctuations between good and bad games,” said Holder. He addressed what the team needs to do next. “It’s not a quick fix. We need to go back to development in the next few years and hopefully see the fruits of that process," the Barbadian added. With inputs from PTI and AP Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News ,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.