WI TEAM OVERHAUL ON THE HORIZON?

Disappointed.

That sums up how West Indies captain, Darren Sammy, feels after the regional side fell to yet another humiliating defeat against New Zealand on Sunday.

The West Indies capit-ulated to 103 all out in its second innings of the third and final Test in Hamilton, leaving New Zealand with a target of just 122 runs. The hosts easily overhauled the meagre total for the loss of two wickets.

Sammy told the media after his team’s horrific performance that he was quite disappointed with the performance, especially as the wicket was a good one to bat on.

“We were thinking anything above 200 on the last day; with the wicket spinning, it would have been a very interesting game. I guess again we are singing the same song. To come here with good batting conditions, it is not a 103 pitch, def-initely not. But credit must go to McCullum and his boys. They looked like they had a plan for each and every batsman, and the way their bowlers bowled on that wicket, it put us under a lot of pressure and we just didn’t have a response,” said Sammy.

The West Indies’ woeful performances in recent time are cause for concern for the usually optimistic Sammy. The St. Lucian admitted that there will be tough decisions to be made and some conceded that some careers, including his own, may just be on the line.

“There are tough decisions to be made by the coach and the director of cricket – some careers are on the line, could be mine as well, you never know. We cannot continue like this. In any organisation, you need to show graft and commitment. The coach keeps saying if we do the same thing, don’t expect a different result,” he said.


Sammy bemoaned the fact that the West Indies seem unable to perform well for a prolonged period of time. He pointed out that the team usually plays well in one innings, but doesn’t back it up in the next.

“You watch us play when we play well and you say, wow, we are moving forward. But then we take two steps forward and then two or three steps backwards, so I think we are not really moving forward. Before we went to India, we were on the back of six consecutive Test wins, New Zealand included. Then we had that tour in India, got beaten miserably. We came here, we escaped in Dunedin, fighting hard where our backs were against the wall. In the last two Test matches, especially here, we had a good first innings total,” said Sammy.

Sunday’s defeat meant that the Caribbean side lost the three-Test series 0-2, following a defeat by an innings and 73 runs in the second Test, which ended two Fridays ago at the Basin Reserve in the New Zealand capital of Wellington. Rain forced a draw in the first Test, which ended three Saturdays ago at University Oval in the South Island city of Dunedin.

The West Indies will now try its luck in the One-Day International Series, which began on Thursday, December 26, in Auckland. (PG)