West Indies Squad ready for 2019 World Cup in England and Wales

BY KAYLA KARIM

Now that the IPL is over, the next goal in sight for many cricketers and fans is the World Cup.

Taking place in England and Wales from May 30^th, 2019 to July 14^th, 2019, the ten best ODI teams will face off on an epic group stage. The difference with this year’s World Cup, however, is that it is the first time in the competition’s history where there is one large group where all of the teams will face each other. The top four of those teams will then go on to the semi finals. The last two Cricket World Cups have been won by the host nation – with India winning in 2011 and Australia winning in 2015. England, hosting this year, has odds of 2/1 according to Betfair of winning it all.

Those odds may have increased Tuesday morning when bowler Jofra Archer was named to England’s World Cup squad, just three weeks after he made his international debut.

Born in Barbados, 24-year-old Jofra Archer is not only a phenomenal bowler, he is also an athletic fielder and a “handy batsman” who was able to win over the English selectors in his three ODI appearances against Pakistan earlier this year. Archer said that he is ready to take on a significant role for England in the World Cup and is excited to be a part of a big summer for English cricket. He also mentioned that he is well versed when under pressure and had played a lot of cricket around the world to know how to deal with it.

He has hopes to lead England to success in the tournament while keeping an eye on impactful players such as India’s captain Virat Kohli and West Indies’ batsman Chris Gayle. “I wasn’t able to do that at the Indian Premier League [for Rajasthan Royals]. I wanted to bowl at AB [de Villiers] at the World Cup as well but he won’t be playing… ‘Maybe Chris Gayle as well… I just want to make an impact in every game.”

Chris Gayle, who is set to retire from ODI cricket after the World Cup will want to leave with a bang, according to Darren Sammy. Thirty-nine-year-old Gayle has scored over 10,000 runs in 289 matches for Windies and made two hundreds in this year’s series against England to increase his overall tally to 25.  Darren Sammy, who captained the West Indies to the World T20 title three years ago, mentioned: “it’s a joy to watch [Gayle]”. Playing most of their games together, he said that when the superb batsman is in that form, it sends a positive message to the rest of the squad. The West Indies have won the first two World Cups in the 1970s but have only been able to reach one final since where they finished as runners-up to India in 1983.

Despite the losses in the last 50 years, many say that this is the year for the Windies squad. David Lloyd, the former England batsman, and coach had only good things to say about the West Indies success in the 2019 World Cup.

“Windies will bring firepower. I would be very excited if I was a West Indies supporter. They’ve got the tools and this World Cup is coming at the right time. They were in the doldrums and losing to everybody, but their young players are emerging and getting better and better with experience. I’d be very excited as a West Indies supporter. I think the tournament is coming just at the right time for them. They have everything you need to win this World Cup.”

Jason Holder and the rest of the team will hope to live up to the expectations of their supporters when they begin their campaign on March 31^st against Pakistan at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.