The West Indies ended their home T20I series empty-handed, beaten 5-0 after Australia pinched the final match in St Kitts by three wickets. For captain Shai Hope the pattern felt painfully familiar: useful platforms were squandered, modest totals left the bowlers little room for error and, when the decisive moments came, Australia were already in front.
Hope’s side were bowled out for 170 – their lowest score of the series – before reducing the visitors to 60 for 4 inside the Powerplay. Akeal Hosein’s tidy 3 for 17 and a lively burst from Alzarri Joseph threatened a consolation win, but Joseph limped off one ball into his third over and Australia eased home with five deliveries in hand.
“I just didn’t think we put together a proper batting display,” Hope said afterwards. “We either started well and finished poorly or the other way around. When you’re playing against quality opposition like Australia, you’ve got to put things together for a more complete game.
“As a batting group, we didn’t really give ourselves the best chance to put a big score on the board consistently. And that’s probably where we fell short… We’ve always been one step behind the eight ball.”
Those words summed up the whole campaign. In the opening contest at Sabina Park West Indies raced to 123 for 1 in the 13th over but stalled at 189. Two nights later 63 without loss slipped to 172 for 8, while the switch to St Kitts brought a 125-run stand between Hope and Brandon King that still failed to spark the middle order. Even when early collapses were partly repaired – 67 for 4 becoming 205-9, and 32 for 3 stretching to 170 – Australia coasted home each time.
Statistically, batting second is usually kinder in the Caribbean yet Hope never had that luxury; opposite number Mitchell Marsh won all five tosses. “I think here in the Caribbean, we all know the stats show chasing is always the better thing to do,” Hope reflected. “Whether it’s the dew factor, wind factor, you always have that scoreboard in front of you, so you have an idea of how to go about the chase. But it’s something that I can’t control. Unfortunately, I didn’t win any [tosses]… It’s just one of those things for us.”
While the scoreboard made grim reading, the bowling unit offered enough flickers to keep the coaching staff interested. Left-arm seamer Jediah Blades, only 21, removed David Warner and Glenn Maxwell in Saturday’s fourth match; Hosein tightened the screws in the decider; Joseph’s pace touched 150 kph before his side strain intervened.
“We understood the struggles of bowling spin here on this ground and surface,” Hope noted. “But [Hosein] is a quality bowler and we just backed him to come and do the job, and he did exceptionally well for that four-over spell. Just unfortunate that, again, we didn’t have as many runs on the board as we would have liked.
“I still must commend the guys for the effort that they showed in the back end, to give ourselves a chance to win the game. But once you don’t have that many runs on the board, then you’re always playing catch-up.”
From a tactical angle the gaps are clear. West Indies struck at 9.2 runs per over in the Powerplay across the five games but slowed to 7.5 thereafter, losing a wicket roughly every nine balls. Australia, meanwhile, kept wickets in hand and surged late, plundering 55 boundaries in the last ten overs of their chases. Until West Indies find a reliable finisher – and perhaps push one of their pinch-hitters deeper into the order – those numbers are unlikely to move.
The injury to Joseph is another concern with a tri-series against Pakistan and Bangladesh looming next month. If scans bring bad news, selectors may lean on veteran Kemar Roach or fast-tracking Jayden Seales back from rehab.
None of that dulled Hope’s wider ambitions. He produced his maiden T20I hundred in game three and averaged 48 for the series, reaffirming his move up the order. “The belief is still there,” he said earlier in the week. “The talent we have can match anyone; it’s about stringing it together for 40 overs.”
That remains the challenge. For now Australia fly home with a clean sweep, West Indies are left to stitch together a batting plan that lasts beyond a promising start, and the Caribbean public wait, again, for the spark that turns potential into sustained success.
