West Indies endured a heartbreak in their final match of the ICC Women's World Cup Qualifiers, chasing down 167 against Thailand in 11 overs, falling short by just a 0.1 difference of the Net Run Rate to Bangladesh, who qualified for the marquee tournament alongside Pakistan.
A couple of early losses in the tournament left West Indies in a tough spot heading into their final game — a chance they ultimately couldn't capitalise on.
"We feel like we definitely let ourselves down, probably earlier on in the tournament, and yeah, I guess we're just paying the price for that now," skipper Hayley Matthews told reporters afterwards.
"At the same time, it was really good to see the fight shown by the team in the last match against Bangladesh — the way the girls were able to get up, fight with the ball, and then knock off the runs. The fight today was obviously incredible, but yeah, probably just a lack of consistency killed us this tournament."
West Indies needed to chase down a target of 167 in 10.1 overs in order to secure qualification for the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 in India. They could extend the chase to 11 overs if they levelled the scores at 166 and then sealed the win with a six.
"We knew the scenarios were always going to be tough today, especially batting second, but the team was up for the fight. It really showed a lot of courage, bravery, and that never-say-die attitude within the group," Matthews added.
"It's something we can definitely take forward, it shows the potential we have and what we're capable of. We just need to be able to do that more consistently."
West Indies entered the tournament as one of the favourites to qualify, ranked sixth in the ICC Women's ODI Team Rankings. With several core players nearing the end of their careers, Matthews admitted it was difficult to predict what the team might look like by the time the next Cricket World Cup comes around.
"Coming into this tournament as the number one seeded team, we had a lot of expectations — not just from the outside, but from ourselves as well. We all feel like the 50-over World Cup is the pinnacle of any tournament you want to be part of, and as a team ranked six or seven, it's quite disappointing not to make it.
"Now with so many senior players like Stafanie Taylor, Shemaine Campbelle, and Afy Fletcher — who've given so many years to West Indies cricket — it's hard.
"The next 50-over World Cup isn't until 2029, and we don't know what things will look like by then. So yeah, we're all really heartbroken and disappointed."
Despite the disappointing finish to their campaign, the skipper praised the young brigade in the squad, believing their impact on the team will only grow.
"Yeah, a hundred percent. We have so many girls showing a lot of promise. Aaliyah Alleyne, with her spell in the last match and this match, has put us in some really good positions."
"Then Chinelle Henry with the bat has been a whirlwind over the past few months. It's really good to see players like that progressing, and yeah, it's only up from here for them."
Bd-Pratidin English/ARK
