FOR the ardent among us who were hoping for a Windies upset victory against Pakistan in the knock-out phase of the ICC World Cup, it was a classical case of waiting in vain.

Despite the cold, hard facts that the side had not beaten anybody of worth in the past two years in the limited-over version of the game, the fervent prayer that presumably permeated the region was that since they were way overdue, a shock result was possibly in the offing last Wednesday.

As it turned out, however, not only were the dwindling fans left utterly disappointed, but also, the Windies executed their worst performance in seven matches at the tournament, being dismissed for an embarrassing 112 runs and in the final analysis, conceding like the amateurs they epitomised.

With the batsmen seemingly losing their heads — and the game plot — by failing to cope with the Pakistani bowlers, the writing was quickly on the wall.

Simultaneously, I argue that it was more a case of inept batting rather than bowling guile that led to our demise, since the opponents subsequently rushed to a lopsided victory, on the very same pitch, without losing a wicket.

Again, a typically dour knock of 44 runs by veteran batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul did not detract from the major disappointment suffered by the team, which forced the usually reserved Otis Gibson to speak out against the non-performance of the senior players throughout the tournament.

In making a comparison with their counterparts from some of the other established cricketing nations, the Windies coach singled out India’s Sachin Tendulkar, whom he said was a model of consistency and who could be depended on to contribute with the bat and his presence on almost every occasion.

Of course, Gibson could have added Yuvraj Singh and a few others to that list.

More importantly, however, Gibson was alluding to batsmen like Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chanderpaul — players who cumulatively have contested tons of One-Day International (ODI) matches, and whose experience is thus way beyond question.

In fact, Gayle (225), Sarwan (166) and Chanderpaul (268) have played 659 ODI matches among them.

Accordingly, the manner in which most of our top batsmen were dismissed merits perusal and also makes for interesting discussion. For instance, the blatant shortcomings were obviously not limited to a lack of application at the crease, but included the novice-like approach to the playing of spin bowling which was cruelly exploited by Mohammad Hafeez and skipper Shahid Afridi last Wednesday.

Ironically, neither bowler is a ‘spin demon’ in the mould of a Muttiah Muralitharan or a Shane Warne in terms of their penchant for extracting appreciable spin, but rather, have as a chief weapon a variety of deliveries, including the straight one that hurries onto the batsman, often triggering an lbw appeal and rendered even more deadly with the new ball.

Indeed, it was frustrating to see Dwayne Smith, Darren Bravo, Devon Thomas and others being spread-eagled in this way — playing for that elusive turn that never came, or injudiciously substituting pad for bat and becoming archetypal lbw candidates.

On reflection, various philosophical statements could be proffered to cushion the Windies’ latest embarrassment, with ‘behind every dark cloud there is a silver lining’ as apt as any.

However I would dare to suggest that more than anything else, this World Cup was an ideal platform for the Windies players to prove their worth, or lack thereof, even as one ponders future selections.

For, while the manner in which the Windies faltered is a serious cause for concern, I am confident that those seven matches would have at least proved to both players and selectors those who are of the required international mould.

For instance, Devon Thomas has played only nine ODI matches and is quite decent with his glove-work. Additionally, he is a natural motivator on the field and clearly has a deep love and enthusiasm for the game.

The harsh reality, nevertheless, is that with a career aggregate of 70 runs and an average of 11.66, he does not represent a viable wicketkeeping option in an era where the proverbial ‘ball-stopper’ has long been dispensed with.

In fact, based on Thomas’ batting performance and in comparing him to Denesh Ramdin, who was sacked for his sustained non-performance, the selectors would have realised that in Jamaican partlance, it was a case of ‘swapping black dog for monkey.’

On the other hand, Andre Russell, the authentic find from a Windies perspective, was puzzlingly dropped for that crucial game against Pakistan shortly after starring with both bat and ball against England and taking the Windies to the verge of an important victory.

On his day, Russell can instantaneously turn a game on its head and is perhaps one of only a handful of current Windies players capable of that. As such, this was yet another costly blunder — a scenario that is fast becoming a habit within the Windies fraternity.