Coach Stuart Law challenges West Indies to show why they should play the World Cup

West Indies once again did justice to their ‘T20 champions’ tag when they beat a full-strength English side earlier this month. But their bid to qualify for the 2019 World Cup received a major blow after they were handed a defeat by the English side in the 1st ODI. The Windies will now have to play the qualifiers to make an entry in the World Cup.

They will lock horns with the likes of Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe among others and fight for a place in the ICC event. Coach Stuart Law has challenged the Windies set up to show why they deserve to be in the World Cup. West Indies will also have to prove their mettle against England first and then New Zealand.

“Our plan is to go to Zimbabwe next year with a settled team, a team where everyone knows their roles and what they want to achieve. It’s a balancing act because what some players bring is extraordinary and you don’t want to nullify that effect. We’ve still got some selectorial conversations to have, to understand if we have the best players to take this team forward,” Law told ESPNcricinfo.

Opportunities for Windies

“There’s plenty of A-team cricket in the Caribbean – Sri Lanka are there and England are coming next year so there are opportunities – but I’d like to go to New Zealand with a team which is pretty settled before the qualifiers,” Law added.

“Most people would be excited to have a guy like Andre Russell champing at the bit to play international cricket. Sunil Narine showed his class in the T20. He stated he wanted to get some 50-over cricket in, which is fair enough, but if he decides he wants to give ODIs a go he’d be one of the first picks with the spin he provides,” Law said backing the missing players.