World Cup 2019 – Match 42: AFG vs WI – Windies Predicted Playing XI

When they tied the ODI series against England a few months ago, they raised great expectations amongst the fans. Many were to believe that the vintage Windies team of the ’70s and ’80s was back. Amidst great expectations and hopes, the side entered the World Cup 2019 and they bounced Pakistan out in their first game. This victory gave a massive boost of fans’ faith.

They thought the team would get as close as possible to the top four. But in the matter of the next few days, things only went downhill for the men from the Caribbean. They tasted 6 losses and a washout after that leaving them on the penultimate spot on the points table. While they are already out of the tournament, this young team will have an emotional game to play against Afghanistan with one of their finest cricketers slated to play his last World Cup game.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for Windies

Openers (Chris Gayle, Sunil Ambris)

Chris Gayle is the man for the big occasions and he wouldn’t want to miss out on a game such as this. Playing his last World Cup match, the ‘Universe Boss’ will want to finish on a high. He has been slightly inconsistent this tournament. Such an occasion won’t come again and he could well be lethal.

Sunil Ambris didn’t really make it big in the last two matches. Thus, his ODI average has taken a dip to 70.4 from 105.33. Evin Lewis and Darren Bravo are the other two options that the team has got. However, they might persist with the 26-year-old for this final game as well.

Middle Order (Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran)

1, 5, 5 – These are Shai Hope’s scores in the last three innings. While he is usually the one who does the bulk of scoring for his team, this hasn’t been the best tournament for him. He definitely has got some catching up to do and wouldn’t want his team to lose against Afghanistan.

Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran will continue in the usual batting positions. Both these players have done a fabulous job. Pooran’s innings in the last match was nothing less than inspirational. Even though his team was in trouble, he never bogged down and came up with an exceptional knock. He scored 118 in the game which was also his first ODI century and will want many more such innings to come in the future.

All Rounders (Jason Holder (c), Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen)

Jason Holder did a fine job with the ball against Sri Lanka and completed his quota of 10 overs. He even picked up two wickets and is fitting into his role really well. Holder will look to lead his troops to a win before they fly back to the Caribbean. Carlos Brathwaite was involved in an freakish run out in the last match.

He ]put up a display of his potential against New Zealand but hasn’t backed that up with consistent performances. His focus should be to turn into a reliable asset for his team and even pick more wickets with the ball. Fabian Allen will get another opportunity and is usually quite economical. He even turned up with the bat in the previous outing with a well-made fifty.

Bowlers (Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Kemar Roach)

Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas will hold onto their place in the eleven. Cottrell has possibly been the best bowler for his team in the tournament. Thomas, though, has struggled slightly and hasn’t picked many wickets in the last few encounters. Windies will make a change to their bowling department. If fit, Kemar Roach is a straight swap for Shannon Gabriel who isn’t the best when it comes to white-ball cricket.