Leeds, July 5 (IANS) Following their disastrous World Cup campaign, West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite has urged his team to follow England’s example over the next four years.
Windies, the two-time World Cup winners in 1975 and 1979, have seen a steep downfall in their performance in the recent years following retirements of many of their senior players including the likes of Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, etc.
On Thursday, West Indies rounded off their 2019 World Cup campaign with a 23-run victory over Afghanistan, bookending the tournament with a second success either side of a string of frustrating losses.
Those included a five-run defeat to New Zealand when Brathwaite’s brilliant century was not quite enough, as well as another close-run loss to Australia earlier in the competition.
Brathwaite, who took 4/63 at Headingley, believes the way England rebounded from missing the quarter-finals in 2015, to make the semis this time around, offers the perfect template for the team from the Caribbean Islands.
“There is disappointment in the changing rooms at not making the final four but we’re thankful for the good performances,” said Brathwaite as per ICC.
“Sheldon Cottrell had a fantastic tournament and at times like these it’s easy to let those things go missing. But as a team we came together, we highlighted the guys that we thought had good performances and the guys that didn’t will take the lessons and come back from it so we can start to win bilateral series leading up to the next World Cup.
He further said that they need to regroup as a team and need to find ways to compete and win series.
“Hopefully we can take that winning mentality into the next World Cup. If you look at 2015 and what England did after the World Cup, they have built straight up to the 2019 World Cup and its paying dividends.
“I don’t know off-the-field what the plans are for the 2023 World Cup but I think it’s something we need to look at and build towards that.”
West Indies will now host India for a full tour beginning August 3.
–IANS
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