Three Big Positives for the West Indies in ODI cricket going forward

West Indies team in action [PC: Twitter]

Continuing their disastrous ODI run this year, West Indies suffered yet another series defeat, this time from New Zealand, yesterday. 

This was their fourth consecutive series defeat in the 50-over format this year. Overall, the Men in Maroon have recorded sixteen losses in 21 ODI outings in 2022, suggesting their prolonged miserable run in this format. 

However, three big positives have emerged like a ray of hope in this dark phase for this depleted ODI unit, as mentioned below. 

Batting against spin

West Indies batters' inability to play quality spin was one of the primary reasons behind their crushing defeats against Pakistan and Bangladesh this year. Statistically, the Caribbean men averaged just 16.93 and struck at a dismal rate of 65.30 in these two series. 

On the contrary, their average and strike rate against the tweakers have risen to 35.8 and 86.47 since the India series, indicating a massive improvement in this regard. 

Form of Nicholas Pooran

West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran had massively underperformed in ODIs in the first half of the year. Statistically, the swashbuckling southpaw had managed just 249 runs at an average of 16.6 in his first 15 ODI innings this year. 

However, the experienced batter has recently found his mojo back, scoring 262 runs at a fabulous average of 43.67 and a terrific strike rate of 108.26 since the India series. These numbers indicate how Pooran has recently led from the front, which is a positive sign for West Indies going forward. 

Consistency of top-order batters

The inconsistency of Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks in the series against Pakistan and Bangladesh had emerged as a big headache for the West Indies think tank.  These three batters collectively averaged a mere 23.34 in those two series, which is substandard for any decent ODI batting lineup. 

Kyle Mayers and Shai Hope [PC: Twitter]

Fortunately, for the Men in Maroon, they have performed much better, amassing 624 runs at a collective average of around 35 in the last two ODI series.  Mayers has provided quick starts, while Hope and Brooks have effectively consolidated the innings.

They have lost many games off late, but these are a few encouraging things that will play a key role in West Indies' resurgence as a top-quality ODI side in the near future. 

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