An astonishing end to a remarkable match. A thoroughly entertaining, enthralling competition was given a fitting finale with a display of stupendous strokes from West Indies' Carlos Brathwaite in world t20 cricket finale. All great tournaments should end with a fireworks display. Brathwaite's final-over flourish provided the pyrotechnics without the need for a closing ceremony. With 19 required from the game's last over, young Carlos rattled off the necessary runs in four clean, successive strikes that took the West Indies to the title.
Crisis? What crisis? West Indies cricket, we are told, is in turmoil. It is in the mire. Yet, how many international teams wish right now that they had Windies' problems — and West Indies' trophies?
Their recent Under-19 World Cup victory in Bangladesh was totally unexpected. Their women XI's superb chase-down of Australia's challenging total in Sunday's earlier World T20 Women's event was a huge upset. And their amazing victory later that night over England in the men's version was a stupendous hat-trick.
Contract wrangles and disputes have spilled over into the public arena, severely disrupting tours and inconveniencing fellow cricket countries. Internal squabbles over the structure of the West Indies Cricket Board have gone so far as to involve the Prime Ministers of the Caribbean nations. Damning reports have emerged — the most recent calling for the immediate dissolution of the WICB.
Having now won the last three ICC World trophies across a variety of ages, sexes and formats, is that evidence of the absolute decline of Caribbean cricket still sound? If failure was proof positive of the WICB's incompetence, then surely these triumphs are indicative of its effectiveness
Some critics of the West Indies, will, sadly, not rejoice in this win because the West Indies Cricket Board will be understandably triumphalist. That is a shame. Politics, and confrontation between the opposing factions, ought to be put to one side. Tonight, tomorrow night — and for a few more evenings yet — calypso parties in the region should abound, wallowing in the win, soaking up the golden rays of glory.
Picture the scenes, if you will, unfolding in Bridgetown, Kingston, Port-of-Spain, Georgetown — indeed, throughout the whole Caribbean Islands. Imagine the dancing in the streets; hear the beat of the drums; sway with the reggae vibe; feel the rhythm of the celebration; taste the manna of victory; inhale the sweet smell of success.
That sensation can't be taken away from them. They've earned it: the players, the supporters, the people. They can't be denied. And they have every right to their revelry.
The Man-of-the-Match did it again. In the World T20 final of 2012 he rescued his side from a dreadful start against Sri Lanka, posting 78 to take West Indies to a total of 137-6 that proved to be enough. Back then, he added 59 for the third wicket with Dwayne Bravo in a sensible, measured, re-building operation. Four years on, it was these two again that did the spade work, digging the West Indies out of a hole of their own making — and keeping them in the game.
Samuels is an enigma. He distanced himself from his team-mates when he publicly declared he'd opposed the side's 'withdrawal of labour' on the 2014 ODI tour of India. He was a reluctant, disengaged presence in their lacklustre late-2015 Test tour of Australia. And his form in general for the last 18 months has been woeful.
In this final, he brought out an array of dazzling shots, singlehandedly keeping West Indies alive, giving them a chance. He unfurled a series of thunderous straight-drives for four or six; he stepped-to-leg and made sufficient room to cut crucial boundaries; and he even managed to dip into the arcane: playing a late-adjusted 'dog shot' to force Liam Plunkett to the square-leg boundary -- whipping the ball between his legs to find the fence. Nicholas Felix, a regular purveyor of this stroke (and its illustrator in his 1840's batting manual), would have purred with delight.
Bravo, by contrast, did not have his best day. His bowling was below his usual high standards, and he was more expensive than his colleagues would expect. Likewise, Sulieman Benn. He'd bowled excellently throughout the tournament, but this was an off-day for him. So costly was his left-arm spin than captain Darren Sammy had to call upon himself to make up his quota: that over cost 14 runs.
Elsewhere, Badree was superb; and Brathwaite and Andre Russell, the weak links in the attack, did sterling work, returning excellent figures. Batting wise, Gayle failed again; as did Johnson Charles, Lendl Simmons, Russell and Sammy. Collectively, those five batsmen made eight runs between them.
Gayle's figures for the tournament make for odd reading: 100 not out, did not bat, 4, 5, 4. Perhaps, even more curiously, the two semi-final match-winners, Simmons and England's Jason Roy both scored 0 and faced three balls between them.
But this was the most unpredictable of finals; and the most fabulous of finishes.
WI grab title after Brathwaite 6, 6, 6, 6
rite off West Indies cricket at your peril. Less than four months in, 2016 is already a year of great celebration and renewal for cricket in the Caribbean. West Indies won the Under-19 World Cup. West Indies won the Women's World T20. And now West Indies have won the World T20. In doing so, Darren Sammy's men have become the first team to win two World T20 tournaments, having also triumphed in Sri Lanka in 2012.
Those are the facts. The how is all the more extraordinary. Set 156 to beat England and win the championship, West Indies found themselves needing 19 off the last over, to be bowled by Ben Stokes. Marlon Samuels, who had steered the chase, was on 85. But he was at the wrong end. This was all down to Carlos Brathwaite, the allrounder who emerged on the Test tour of Australia just a few months ago.
Six. Six. Six. Six. Job done with two balls to spare. The first one was a poor ball from Stokes, down leg, clubbed over deep backward square. Then a length ball slammed down the ground over long-on. Then over long-off. One run needed. Push a single? Why bother when you have the power, like Brathwaite, to crunch another six over the leg side. The West Indies players streamed onto the field in jubilation. They had not only done it. They had done it in style.
And all this from a team that, in the weeks before this tournament, was stuck in another pay dispute with their board. But that is for another day. This day was about what happened on the field, and West Indies dominated the first over of the match and the last over of the match. England, along the way, had their own ups and downs, but by taking wickets throughout the chase gave themselves a strong chance of claiming their second World T20 title.
But if Brathwaite destroyed them at the end, Samuels was the one who chipped away at them through most of the innings. Samuels walked to the crease in the second over of the chase, when England had surprised West Indies by using Joe Root with the new ball, and he duly claimed Johnson Charles and Chris Gayle in his first over. Samuels had a mountain of work to do, and he did it, just as he had in 2012.
Samuels is an enigmatic cricketer, one who seems to spend long periods in hibernation. During those times he looks like a Don't Care Bear. But when he awakes, he is capable of anything, as he showed during the World T20 final in 2012, when his 78 from 56 balls set up the West Indies victory over Sri Lanka. Here when he came out of his hibernation, he was a Kung Fu Panda, clubbing England's bowlers and kicking them into the dust.
And he did it with limited support. England's bowling was good. David Willey picked up 3 for 20, Liam Plunkett was hard to get away, Adil Rashid cost less than six an over. Dwayne Bravo managed 25 off 27 balls but besides him, Samuels and Brathwaite were the only ones to reach double figures. Brathwaite's final score was 34 from 10 balls, not out. Notably, Root did not bowl an over after taking 2 for 9 in his first.
West Indies found themselves needing 45 off the last four overs, then 38 off the last three, and 27 off the last two. But Eoin Morgan had left himself with Stokes and Root as his only bowling options, and Stokes could not hit the mark. Chasing had again proved successful for West Indies, who did not lose a toss in this tournament and bowled first every time.
You could sense the relief for Darren Sammy, then, when he won the toss for the 10th successive time in T20 internationals, and sent England in. Ball one, Samuel Badree skidded it past the bat of Jason Roy, who was struck on the pad. Not out, sliding down leg. Ball two, Badree skidded it past the bat of Roy and onto the stumps. Roy had starred with 78 in England's semi-final win over New Zealand, but this was going to be a rather different sort of innings.
When Alex Hales flicked Andre Russell to short fine leg in the next over, it felt like an anti-climax was brewing. So too when Morgan, perplexed by Badree's wrong'un, edged to Gayle at slip to leave the total at 23 for 3 in the fifth over. But Badree bowled out, his figures of 2 for 16 impressive, and suddenly it was more of a contest.
Root was outstanding in the face of wickets falling around him. He struck seven boundaries and all were from classy, traditional cricket strokes, mostly along the ground, through the gaps. When eventually he innovated, he immolated. On 54 from 36, he fell when he tried to paddle Brathwaite over short fine leg, but in that position Sulieman Benn dived forward to take a sharp catch low to the ground.
West Indies' fielding was universally outstanding. No catches were dropped, and some of those taken were far from straightforward. Badree, Brathwaite and Russell were all hard to get away. Bravo found three wickets, including those of Stokes and Moeen Ali in the space of three balls. But the fifth bowler - a combination of Benn and Sammy - leaked heavily.
Benn's three overs cost 40 runs and Jos Buttler clubbed him for a pair of consecutive sixes in his 36 off 22 balls, and Sammy bowled just one over for 14. Sammy finds himself in the strange position of having captained West Indies to one of their greatest triumphs in recent years, but in doing so having almost done himself out of a job. He made only eight runs in this tournament and bowled three overs for 31 runs. In three games he neither batted nor bowled.
Sammy is a dual World T20-winning captain. His men have done what no others in cricket have done. And they have given the Caribbean region a hat-trick of triumphs in 2016. What a year for West Indies.
The 2016 ICC World Twenty20 was the sixth edition of the ICC World Twenty20, the world championship of Twenty20 International cricket. It was held in India from 8 March to 3 April 2016, and was the first edition to be hosted by that country.
Seven cities hosted matches at the tournament – Bangalore, Dharamsala, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur, and New Delhi. There were sixteen participating teams, ten qualifying automatically through their status as full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and another six qualifying through the 2015 World Twenty20 Qualifier. The tournament was divided into three stages. In the first stage, the ten lowest-ranked teams played off, with the top two joining the eight highest-ranked teams in the Super 10 stage. Finally, the top four teams overall contested the knockout stage. In the final, played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, the West Indies defeated England by four wickets. Indian batsman Virat Kohli was named the player of the tournament, while Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal and Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi led the tournament in runs and wickets, respectively.
2016 ICC Women's World Twenty20
For the men's tournament taking place at the same time, see 2016 ICC World Twenty20.
The 2016 ICC Women's World Twenty20 was the fifth edition of the ICC Women's World Twenty20, the world championship of women's Twenty20 International cricket. India hosted the event for the first time, with matches played from 15 March to 3 April 2016. For the first time, the tournament was run simultaneously with the men's World Twenty20, with the final of each tournament played on the same day at the same venue (at Eden Gardens, Kolkata). In the tournament final, the West Indies defeated defending champions Australia by eight wickets, claiming their first title. West Indian captain Stafanie Taylor was named player of the tournament, having scored more runs than any other player.
West Indies claimed their first Women's World Twenty20 with a pulsating eight-wicket win over Australia in Kolkata.
Australia, seeking a fourth successive World T20 title, chose to bat and posted 148-5, with Elyse Villani making the first half century in a final.
But 18-year-old Windies opener Hayley Matthews hit a stunning 66 off 45 balls with three sixes, in a stand of 120.
The Windies won with three balls to spare and their men's team later completed a T20 double.
West Indies had lost all of their eight previous T20 internationals against Australia and in their first final they made a nervous start bowling at the iconic Eden Gardens.
Villani (52) seized on some wayward full tosses to reach her fifty from 34 balls.
Australia skipper Meg Lanning hit three successive fours in her 52 and the elegant Ellyse Perry dispatched two glorious straight drives for six in a cameo 28.
Having fought back by conceding only a single from the final over they bowled, the Windies made a slow start to their reply, scoring three from the first two overs.
But Matthews and skipper Stafanie Taylor hit 16 from the fifth over, bowled by Perry, and recorded their century partnership in the 14th over.
Matthews was caught with 29 more runs required from 26 balls and Taylor's 59 ended with only five left to score from eight deliveries.
Three were needed from the final over and victory was secured after a routine run-out opportunity turned into an overthrow, to spark exuberant West Indian celebrations, joined by the men's team who were arriving for their final with England.
It continued a welcome resurgence for West Indian cricket, after the Under-19 team beat India to win the 50-over World Cup in February.
West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor: "I've been waiting for this a long time and it has come at the right time.
"We didn't get the start we wanted but the batting has done it for us.
"It was fantastic to know that the men were with us. [WI Cricket T20 Men's captain Darren Sammy] Sammy sent me a text this morning 'Staf you are going to do it, you girls you are going to do it'."
Australia skipper Meg Lanning: "Full credit to the West Indies, they came out with the bat, and we did not quite get the result we wanted.
"We felt we were a little short, 160 would have been nice, but if we bowled well we would have defended.
"It was a really exciting, tough road into the World Cup and I am proud of the effort that everyone has put in."
Analysis
Former England batter Ebony Rainford-Brent on BBC Test Match Special:
"The Windies have brought power into this tournament.
"Hayley Matthews running down the wicket and hitting Ellyse Perry for six was probably the moment of the tournament.
"They have discipline in their game now. If this team can tighten up with the bowling and handle pressure they will be a dangerous force going forward."
2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup
The 2016 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup was an international limited-overs cricket tournament held in Bangladesh from 22 January to 14 February 2016. It was the eleventh edition of the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, and the second to be held in Bangladesh, after the 2004 event.
The World Cup was contested by the national under-19 teams of sixteen International Cricket Council (ICC) members, and all matches played held under-19 One Day International (ODI) status. Ten teams qualified automatically for the tournament through their status as ICC full members, while five others qualified by winning regional qualifying events. The final place at the tournament was taken by the winner of the 2015 Under-19 World Cup Qualifier, which was contested by the runners-up at the five regional qualifiers. However, on 5 January 2016, Cricket Australia announced that the Australian squad had pulled out of the tournament, citing security concerns. Ireland were invited as a replacement for Australia.
Defending champions South Africa were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage, with back-to-back defeats to Bangladesh and Namibia. The West Indies eventually defeated India by five wickets, claiming their first title. Bangladesh's captain Mehedi Hasan was named player of the tournament, while England's Jack Burnham and Namibia's Fritz Coetzee led the tournament in runs and wickets, respectively.
ICC T20 World Cup 2016, Women's World T20, Under-19 World Cup should help galvanise West Indies cricket
Hopfully, winning three World Cups in the space of a month and a half will galvanise the West Indies into becoming the team they are promising to be.
The West Indies cricket team are many things. Depending on where you are from and what your aesthetic sense is, they could be cheats or street-smart cricketers, classless hooligans or unbridled entertainers, sloggers or power-hitters, undeserving finalists or deserving champions. They currently hold three World Cups — Under-19, Women’s World T20, and Men’s World T20 — but they will not be a part of the 2017 Champions Trophy. They are the only two-time T20I world champions, but they have also been one of the worst Test teams in the world for the better part of a decade.
Squad who played in the Men’s T20 World Cup 2016: Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Andre Russell, Denesh Ramdin, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy, Carlos Brathwaite, Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Ashley Nurse, Jerome Taylor, Evin Lewis, Jason Holder, and Andre Fletcher.
Contrast that to the side that last played Tests for West Indies, in Australia in December-January 2015-16: Jason Holder, Kraigg Brathwaite, Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Rajendra Chandrika, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shai Hope, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, and Jomel Warrican.
What is immediately apparent is the absence of some of the biggest names from the T20I squad, such as Gayle, Sammy, Bravo and Russell. Incidentally, all of those men were in Australia at the time playing T20 cricket in the Big Bash League. Gayle’s fitness was a bit suspect, so his absence from the Test side was understandable. Sammy and Bravo had already retired from Tests, but mainly due to the fact that they were not being selected. Russell is yet to play a Test.
Most tellingly, West Indies’ best batsman for nearly two decades, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, was also missing from the side. Not because there were better players than him — Chandrika has a First-Class batting average of 25.46, while Dowrich and Hope average around 35 in First-Class cricket — but because the WICB did not think him worthy. Then there was the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, where Bravo and Pollard were inexplicably dropped following a spat with the board.
Darren Sammy made a lot of heart-felt statements at the post-match presentation. One of the things that hit the hardest was, “I don’t know when I’m going to be playing with these guys again because we don’t get selected for one-day cricket. We don’t know when we’re going to be playing T20.” This is daunting but it is also true.
West Indies are the proud winners of three World Cups, but the current generation of men’s senior cricketers simply cannot see eye to eye with the WICB. The selectors do not select, and have not selected the best cricketers in the Caribbean Islands, instead opting for little-known cricketers who fall to pieces at the highest level. Players like Kieron Pollard and Russell have never played Test cricket, while Chanderpaul, Bravo, and Sammy were either forced out or simply not selected.
So where does West Indies cricket go from here? Ideally the management and the players should sit down and have a heart-to-heart conversation. Just as it is impossible for a body to function if the brains and the heart work independently of each other, the future of West Indies cricket is in jeopardy unless every unit works in harmony. Hopefully, winning three World Cups in the space of a month and a half will galvanise the West Indies into becoming the team they are promising to be.
