A Look Into Windies Best ODI Playing XI (2011-2019)

The 'Maroon Brigade' produced some electrifying and brilliant cricket in patches but consistency certainly deserted them to be able to become a formidable force in white ball cricket.

It was yet another decade of despair and disappointment  for the once all-mighty Windies in ODI cricket as they continued to fall from their glorious heights achieved in the mid 70s to the late 90s. In all fairness, West Indies were at best a mid-rung team in limited overs cricket that challenged the top guns on rare occasions but certainly lacked the depth, skill and cohesiveness to combine well as a team and really be considered a force to be reckoned with. The 'Maroon Brigade' produced some electrifying and brilliant cricket in patches but consistency certainly deserted them to be able to become a formidable force in white ball cricket. The Windies by any means were not short on individual brilliance with plenty of Calypso panache and flair but the lack of application and mental fortitude hurt their cause and they often were their own nemesis in even winning situations.

Flashy stroke play and exhilarating power packed hitting were usually on full display when the Windies strokemakers were in full song but the art of run grafting and holding fort to build an innings was something they more often than not failed to imbibe into their carefree batting.

The infighting between the West Indies cricket board and bulk of their seasoned campaigners certainly hurt their fortunes in international arena and to add to their woes, lucrative deals to play in the money spinning T20 leagues around the world made donning the national colours not the top most priority for most of their stalwarts. Too much of chipping and chopping was detrimental in providing a settled and stable to their playing eleven in ODIs. An overview of their ODI record during the decade (2011-2019)  sums up a bleak picture. 69 wins in 196 matches reflects a rather poor track record for the Caribbean nation in white ball cricket. Here is a a look at the men who donned the Maroon Jersey for the West Indies in ODIs with distinction all through the decade gone by and were their most successful campaigners in the 50-over format.

 

Windies Best ODI Playing XI (2011-2019)

OPENERS  There was no dearth of firepower up the order with the explosive and electrifying opener Chris Gayle who well into his mid 30s was still a fearsome batsman with the willow up the order. While Gayle had some handy opening partners  - Lendl Simmons and Johnson Charles who did fairly well in the limited opportunities presented to them, the Jamaican eventually formed a steady opening duo with the diminutive Evin Lewis, who was quite the pocket dynamite with his belligerent strokeplay up the order. Towards the end of the decade, the promotion of the ever consistent Shai Hope up the order added more muscle to the Windies opening in ODIs.

 

MIDDLE ORDER The West Indian middle order had a fairly compact and settled look to it with seasoned campaigners in the talented yet maverick Marlon Samuels, the flashy Darren Bravo and  the technically correct Darren Bravo who all were adept at ticking the scoreboard with their eye catching stroke play.However, they were pretty up and down with their run scoring prowess and struggled to chip in with consistent contributions.

 In the later half of the decade, Shai Hope brought in that much required element of composure with a steady head, tons of concentration and an appetite to score some match winning tons. He donned the role of a sheet anchor to perfection and in recent seasons has solidified the Windies middle order in the company of some attacking strokemakers in Shimron Hetymeyer and Nicholas Pooran who can unleash carnage with their explosive strokeplay. While Denesh Ramdin was their number one wicket-keeper in the first half of the decade, Shai Hope has taken over as the most sought after wicket-keeper batsman in ODI cricket at the close of the decade.

LOWER MIDDLE ORDER

The most lethal aspect of the Windies batting armoury was their power packed hitting down the order. Not one but many of those brutal assaulters  who could change the course of with some marauding cameos. Power hitters in Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Daren Bravo, Dareen Sammy, Carlos Brathwaite and Rowman Powell, all replicated their T2O heroics in ODI cricket to enthrall the fans and keep them at the edge of their seats by clinching some nerve wrecking encounters. However, they often did not get the platform to finish the innings with a flurry down the order. SEAM ATTACK

The Windies seam bowling may not have been as lethal as their tearaway speedsters from the 80s and 90s but were still had a handful seam attack which troubled the best with their seam and swing. Spearheading the pace attack in the first half of the decade was the pacy Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor and the uncanny seamer Ravi Rampaul. Andre Russel, Dwyane Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy were more than handy with their medium pace to add depth to the seam attack .

  SPIN ARMOURY

Off spinner Sunil Narine was undoubtedly their world class tweaker who did a decent job in choking the run flow with his immaculate line and deception with bagful of variations. With Narine picking and choosing T2OIs over ODIs, Ashley Nurse has been their frontline seamer in 50-over cricket. Devendro Bishoo and Sulieman Benn did reasonably well whenever they were called upon on national duty.

  Towards the end of the decade, a new crop of seamers led by Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Alzarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel certainly made an impact in white ball cricket and look to be the torchbearers of their pace attack in the current decade. Meanwhile Keemo Paul, Fabien Allen and Roston Chase have come up as handy customers with their all-round skills. West Indies Best Playing XI ODI (2011-2019) - Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Marlon Samuels, Dwyane Bravo, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine and Kemar Roach Reserves - Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Jerome Taylor, Darren Sammy Notable Mentions - Johnson Charles, Ashley Nurse, Dwyane Smith, Darren Bravo, Nikita Miller Windies Rising Stars For Future - Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetymer, Nicolas Pooran, Roston Chase, Fabien Allen, Keemo Paul, Oshane Thomas, Sheldon Cottrel, Hayden Walsh Jr. and  Alzarri Joseph

* - For selecting the Windies XI, I have taken into account those players who consistently formed part of the ODI set up and also were notable contributors with either bat or ball to the team's cause.