West Indies fly out of Dhaka with a 2-1 loss and more questions than answers about their spin attack. On surfaces that looked tailor-made for slow bowling – dark, cracked and offering variable bounce from the first over – Bangladesh’s spinners grabbed 27 wickets at 14.66 apiece. The visitors managed only 18 at 30.05. Head coach Daren Sammy did not spare his bowlers.
“[The positive in the ODI series was] probably the batting of Shai Hope – how he continues to put the team on his back every time he faces a challenge,” Sammy said. “He is a leader. He puts the team on his back, but I am really disappointed in the way we bowled. You come to Bangladesh and you know spinners should be licking their lips. That’s the area where you will get to execute your plans and in the most favorable conditions for you. What we displayed over the last three games was very poor, not consistent enough.”
Hope’s 162 runs at a strike rate nudging 90 kept West Indies in the hunt, yet even his assurance could not disguise a broader problem. Bangladesh’s trio of left-armers – Taijul Islam, Nasum Ahmed and newcomer Murad Khan – found drift, dip and just enough turn to keep edges and pads busy. In contrast, Gudakesh Motie and Roston Chase struggled for both rhythm and length; part-timer Alick Athanaze even out-bowled them in the second match.
Sammy did not blame the pitches. “I will tell you this, I always want to ask for home advantage,” he said. “I can’t tell the Bangladesh team or the authorities what wicket to prepare. I focus on my team having the skillset to counteract whatever comes when they are playing away.”
Analytically, the numbers are stark. Bangladesh conceded only 3.80 runs an over through spin; West Indies leaked 4.39. Over 150 overs that’s an extra 89 runs – almost the difference between the sides across the series. ESPN analyst Santokie Nagulendran noted on local radio that West Indian spinners “never quite settled on a stock ball – there was no reliable arm-ball, no defensive line”.
The coach also turned his sights on fielding. “We were poor in all three disciplines,” Sammy said. “I think we dropped six catches. Two didn’t go to hand and one was too wide. We were poor in all the departments today.” One of those drops reprieved Mushfiqur Rahim on 42; he went on to 87 and turned a gettable chase into a stroll.
There were bright spots. Khary Pierre, recalled after 18 months, kept the run-rate under five. More striking was Akeal Hosein’s comeback: six wickets at 13.66, including 4 for 35 in the dead-rubber third ODI. Sammy was quick to praise him. “Massive kudos to Akeal in the manner in which he came up,” he said. “In a team where you have three left-arm spinners and a guy who’s been out for the last two years coming in and outshine them, yes there’s a place for competition.
“That’s what you want in a team. You don’t want to select guys because they have nobody else to replace them. You want to select guys because they have competition, and what Akeal did in this series is definitely going to challenge some of the guys who’ve been there.”
Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar, speaking on T Sports, felt the West Indian quicks deserved credit. “Romario Shepherd and Alzarri Joseph banged the surface hard and got purchase,” he said, “but once the ball softened, everything fell back on the spinners – Bangladesh knew that and played accordingly.”
West Indies now head to India for a short white-ball leg. The surfaces in Hyderabad and Bengaluru may offer more carry but, as Sammy reminds his squad, quality spin travels. Whether the lessons of Mirpur and Chattogram have sunk in will become clear soon enough.
