HARARE, Zimbabwe, CMC – West Indies captain Shai Hope has defended his decision to give all-rounder Jason Holder the super-over amidst criticism of team tactics during his side’s shock defeat to the Netherlands in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers on Monday.
After scores were tied at 374 in the Group A contest at the Takashinga Sports Club, the experienced Holder was on the receiving end of a hiding from Logan van Beek, the 31-year-old seamer sending down a poor over which yielded 30 runs.
Van Beek then took the ball to lead the Dutch side’s defense of the total, inflicting West Indies with a second straight defeat following their loss to Zimbabwe last weekend.
“Hindsight is the best sight. Jason could’ve come and bowled the best over, bowled a maiden, and we won the game,” Hope told reporters on Tuesday.
“But we have to look at way before that. You can’t pinpoint a super-over as the reason why we lost the game. We have to look at the factors leading up to that super-over.
“And again, anyone I throw the ball to, they’re always going to give me 100 percent, and the consensus was Jase said he was the man, we backed him [but] it just didn’t turn out for us, unfortunately, this time.”
He continued: “But it is a learning opportunity for us. If Jase is put in that situation again, we’re backing him 120 percent to deliver for us.
“It’s just how it goes. Unfortunately, we came out on the losing end, but they’re lessons to be learned.”
There were also question marks over Hope’s decision to hand off-spinner Roston Chase the ball for the penultimate over of the Netherlands run chase, with them needing 30 runs for victory.
Chase subsequently leaked 21 runs, leaving the Dutch with a relatively easy proposition in the final.
Head coach Darren Sammy quickly threw his support behind Hope and Holder, stressing the entire team would learn from the experience.
“I have full trust in the captain. Whatever decisions are taken out there, he does it in the team’s best interest,” said Sammy.
“We back Jason all the time to deliver, but there is learning from every situation, and I’m sure there is a lot of learning to be done after this game.”
West Indies will now enter the Super Six phase, needing to win all three of their fixtures to stand any chance of qualifying for the World Cup in India later this year.
And Hope said while the West Indies were hurting, they needed to pick themselves up for the tournament’s next phase.
“Certainly, there is going to be a lot of pain and hurt in the dressing room, but we know there is always a chance for us to move to the next step,” Hope explained.
“We’re always talking about communication amongst each other. The main thing now is to get the guys as uplifted as possible to ensure we get the best result going into the next game.”
West Indies face a tricky encounter against Scotland on Saturday before taking on minnows Oman on July 5 and Sri Lanka on July 7.
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