In a historic turn of events, the West Indies cricket team suffered a major setback as they failed to qualify for the Cricket World Cup for the first time. The two-time champions were handed a resounding defeat by Scotland, losing by seven wickets in the qualifying event held on Saturday.
Desperately needing a victory to keep their slim chances of qualification alive, the Caribbean side could only muster a total of 181 runs in their allotted 50 overs. Scotland, on the other hand, chased down the target with 6.3 overs to spare in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Shai Hope’s men now find themselves without any points, with only two matches remaining in the Super Six stage. They had previously suffered defeats against the hosts, Zimbabwe, and the Netherlands in the tournament.
The absence of the West Indies, one of the traditional powerhouses in cricket, will be notable in the upcoming global one-day showpiece scheduled to be held in India from October 5 to November 19.
This victory for Scotland serves as a sweet revenge for their agonizing and controversial loss to the West Indies in the previous World Cup Qualifier in 2018, which resulted in their exclusion from the main tournament. It marks their first-ever one-day international win over the West Indies.
Currently, Scotland sits just two points behind Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, with the top two teams set to qualify for the 10-team World Cup. Scotland’s final two games, against Zimbabwe and the Netherlands, will determine their fate in the tournament.
The Scottish seam bowlers dealt an early blow to the West Indies, reducing them to a score of 81-6 after winning the toss and electing to field first. Young all-rounder Brandon McMullen played a pivotal role, dismissing the top three West Indies batsmen: Brandon King, Johnson Charles, and Shamarh Brooks, and finishing with figures of 3-32 from nine overs.
Despite a brief fightback from Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd, Scotland’s spinners maintained control over the game. Shepherd was brilliantly caught by Safyaan Sharif off the bowling of Mark Watt, while Holder was trapped lbw by Chris Greaves just three balls later. The West Indies lost their last four wickets for 23 runs.
Holder provided a glimmer of hope for his team by dismissing Scotland opener Christopher McBride from the very first delivery of their innings. However, a 125-run partnership for the second wicket between McMullen and Matthew Cross put Scotland firmly in command of the match.
McMullen eventually fell for 69, but the game was already virtually won by then. Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein claimed the wicket of George Munsey when Scotland needed 20 runs for victory, leaving Cross to guide Scotland home with an unbeaten 74 off 107 balls.
The West Indies’ absence from the upcoming World Cup is a significant blow to their proud history in the tournament. They had participated in every previous edition and emerged as champions in the first two tournaments held in 1975 and 1979.
