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The whole world was left in utter shock after West Indies failed to qualify for the ODI World Cup 2023 for the first time in the history of cricket. Once the stalwarts of the game, Windies had a mediocre outing in the league stage of the qualifiers with only two wins out of four. In the Super 6 stage, they had a daunting to win all the remaining matches in order to stay in the race. However, the Shai Hope-led team faced a brutal seven-wicket defeat on Saturday as Scotland comfortably chased down the target of 182.
As the two-time world champions have now been knocked out of the race, West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder emphasized on backing the young players in the team and stated that these players might change the fortune of the team in the coming years.
“I don’t think all is lost. There’s a lot of young guys in the group who can definitely develop and turn things around for West Indies cricket. We’ve got a young crop of players and we’ve got to put some support around them. It’s really important that we try to utilize time outside of competition and put things in place where we can develop our talent,” Holder said at the post-match press conference.
“We have to look at the levels below and improve them so that when guys get here, they have a good foundation. It’s an area we need to pay some special attention to. It’s not a quick fix. It’s something we need to spend time on. Development is the most important thing. Hopefully in the next couple of years, we can see the fruits of that crop,” he added.
Holder, who has played in the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups, stated that missing out on such a huge ICC event is a really hurtful feeling and the entire team needs to work as one unit, in order to turn the things around.
“We’ve all got to do it. It’s not an individual thing, it’s not a territorial thing, we’ve got to come together as a region and really think about how we want to go forward as a group and make it happen,” Holder said.
“It’s disappointing, especially after last year’s effort in the T20 (World Cup). I’ve had the luxury of playing in two fifty-over World Cups before and some T20 World Cups. There are special occasions so this one will hurt as the one last year did,” he added.
Scotland staged a major upset in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers on Saturday, defeating twice World Champions West Indies in a Super Six clash. The once cricketing giants not only slipped to a new low with the loss but also failed to ensure qualification for the ODI World Cup, which is set to be hosted by India later this year.
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