West Indies have already determined that they will have to play in the qualification tournament in order to reach the next ICC Men’s World Cup tournament.
West Indies head coach Daren Sammy spoke on Tuesday night after the end of the five-match series against New Zealand and told members of the media they are already planning to go that route.
They lost the series 3-2 to the Black Caps and are now on 77 points in the ICC points table for ODIs. They started the series 10 behind Bangladesh in the race for the last automatic spot for the marquee global tournament, which will be played in southern Africa in October and November 2027.
They improved their standings but remain six adrift of Bangladesh, who are ninth on 83 points, and are unlikely to catch up by the September 30, 2026 deadline.
The DAILY NATION asked Sammy directly about his thoughts on the variables surrounding the various scenarios and he expressed confidence they will do what is required to make the big show. He also said it would be good to consider hosting the qualification tournament in the Caribbean, even though no dates or venues have been announced by the ICC. Sources said the likely time line was early next year and the likely venue would again be Zimbabwe, where the tournaments were played ahead of the 2019 and 2023 World Cups.
Out of our hands
“We have no information on where and when it’s going to be. We do understand, though, the qualifying method, but as to when and where – we don’t know at this stage. I did ask the director of cricket a question on that earlier this week and he’s going to get back to me on that.
“If we have a choice, home is where the heart is,” Sammy said. “I’m pretty sure all the guys would love to play at home in Barbados, St Lucia or even Antigua where we do quite well, but it’s out of our hands. Actually, myself and the analyst, we were checking during the game to see if there was a possibility, but it looks like we really have to go through the qualifiers and then book our place.”
The DAILY NATION also asked Sammy his thoughts on the outcome of the just concluded series, which saw his team lose 3-2. West Indies won by two wickets on Tuesday night but New Zealand won the series when they clinched a win in Game 4 on Sunday evening at the Oval. They also won the second match by five wickets and the third by six wickets after the Windies took the series opener by seven wickets.
“No, 3-2 is not a fair result at all . . . . Before that Sri Lanka series we tried to make home our fortress, and we were on the cusp of doing that. We won the last four series in a row before Sri Lanka, and we wanted to continue winning games. Guyana was a challenge, but yet we started off the series quite well. I think if we reflect and look back, too many opportunities we had to win, the batting really did let us down, especially batting first. It doesn’t matter the score at home. When we’re chasing, it’s just a boost of confidence for the guys and I think we really need to change that mindset . . . but I think 3-2, we were not looking for that result,” Sammy said. (PS)
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