Three areas to work on for West Indies ahead of the ODI series against Bangladesh

After crossing swords in two Tests and three T20Is, West Indies and Bangladesh are set to lock horns in a three-match ODI series starting tomorrow. 

West Indies, who whitewashed the Tigers in both Tests and T20Is, would like to continue their dominance at home. On the other hand, Bangladesh would certainly hope to return to the winning track and end their disastrous run.  

Although West Indies have done reasonably well in Tests and T20Is in recent times, their performance in ODIs has been disappointing, to say the least. 

Since the dawn of 2022, the men in maroon have lost eight of twelve ODIs, which sums up their abysmal run in the 50-over format. 

To continue their dominance against the visitors, the West Indies need to improve some aspects of their ODI game, as mentioned below. 

Batting against spinners 

Despite having some monstrous hitters in their line-up, West Indies have recorded pretty ordinary numbers against spinners in 2022. 

The West Indies batters average just 17.25 against spinners in the eight games West Indies have lost in 2022. 

Furthermore, the tweakers have struck in every 22.97 balls and bowled at a surreal economy of 4.5 against the dynamic West Indies batters in these eight matches. 

Bangladesh's spin department consists of two fantastic tweakers, Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan. Also, they have the likes of Mosaddek Hossain, Afif Hossain, Mahmudullah and Nasum Ahmed in their arsenal to spin their web on the home side. 

Therefore, West Indies definitely need to evolve their batting against spin in order to succeed against the Tigers in this series.  

Performance of fast bowlers

One of the significant reasons behind West Indies' poor run in ODIs this year is their fast bowlers' inconsistency. 

In the eight games, the West Indies have lost in 2022, their seamers average a massive 38.03 with the ball and have bowled more than seven overs to pick a wicket. 

These ordinary numbers suggest that the Caribbean spearheads have failed to provide regular breakthroughs, resulting in their team's harsh defeats. 

In their upcoming series, the West Indies seamers will be up against Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah and Liton Das, who are hailed as fine players of fast bowling. 

Therefore, they certainly need to improve their bowling if they want to pose any sort of threat to these visiting batsmen. 

Big names have to step up

The performance of their first-choice batters has also played a big hand in the downfall of West Indies in ODIs this year. 

While Kieron Pollard has bid adieu to international cricket, Shimron Hetmyer continues to be sidelined because of his fitness issues. 

Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran, Kyle Mayers and Rovman Powell are expected to lead the hosts' batting unit in these two players' absence. 

However, if we exclude Brooks, the other three batters collectively average 19.65 in ODIs this year, letting the team down on most occasions.  

Although Brooks has been a shining light for the West Indies, the other batters must step up if they want their team to succeed against Bangladesh.