New-look West Indies search for winning formula
Cricket
West Indies will take on Scotland in Hobart today (Monday) in their first match of the tournament.
HOBART (Web Desk) - The first match of Group B of the T20 World Cup kicks off with two-time winners West Indies taking on Scotland at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.
After a rousing start in Group A over the weekend, the action at the ICC Men s T20 World Cup 2022 shifts to Group B on Monday with West Indies taking on Scotland in Hobart in their first match of the tournament.
It has been anything but smooth sailing for West Indies in the recent past. The squad that arrived in Australia have found the going tough, losing a T20I series against the hosts, and just about managing to see off a spirited UAE side in one of the warm-up games. Having underperformed in the previous edition, skipper Nicholas Pooran has his task cut out as he tries to rebuild West Indies as the powerhouse of T20I cricket, which they were, not so long ago.
The current Windies squad lacks the stardust and depth of Daren Sammy’s teams that went on to lift the cup twice. It also remains to be seen how much Shimron Hetmyer’s absence, having missed his flight before subsequently being dropped, will affect the side. Hetmyer and his big hits will be sorely missed but the former champions have enough in the tank to start proceedings with a win. West Indies and Scotland’s previous warm-up games were washed out due to rain. There aren’t too many punters betting on Pooran’s side going all the way in the tournament but they are expected to progress to the Super 12s.
Scotland, meanwhile, come into the game on the back of a win against Netherlands. Richie Berrington’s side had a memorable outing last year and will fancy their chances as West Indies have looked shaky with bat and ball in recent times. The Windies still have a bevy of big-hitters, including captain Pooran himself but their inexperienced bowling attack will still have to do very well to go far in the T20 World Cup.
Since the 2021 T20 World Cup, Scotland haven’t played much cricket and were comfortably outplayed when they clashed against New Zealand in the run-up to the tournament. They barely scraped through a win against the Dutch and will have to rely on Berrington, Josh Davey and Brad Wheal. Bowling remains a concern for the Scots and they will have to be on top of their game if they have to pull off a giant-killing act.
Predicted Playing XIs
Scotland: George Munsey, Michael Jones, Matthew Cross (wk), Richie Berrington (c), Calum MacLeod, Michael Leask, Mark Watt, Chris Greaves, Chris Sole, Josh Davey, Brad Wheal
West Indies: Kyle Mayers, Johnson Charles, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran (c & wk), Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Odean Smith, Akeal Hosein, Yannic Cariah, Obed McCoy, Sheldon Cottrell.
