A rain-affected, three-match one-day international (ODI) series has left the West Indies with more questions than answers, but the skipper Shai Hope is choosing to bank the positives and focus on the bigger picture — World Cup qualification.

Sri Lanka won the first ODI by 41 runs on Wednesday before the matches on Saturday and Monday were rained out, denying both teams a decisive contest. Sri Lanka made 303/7 in the first game before bowling out the West Indies for 262.

Speaking after the series finale at Sabina Park was called off, Hope said the weather robbed the side of a chance to fight back, but stressed that every moment on the park now carries weight.

A member of the ground staff removes water from the field before the start of the second one-day international cricket match between West Indies and Sri Lanka at Sabina Park in Kingston on Saturday. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

“We can’t control Mother Nature,” Hope said. “It’s just unfortunate we couldn’t get in two solid games of cricket to give ourselves a chance to get back into the series.”

Despite the disappointment, Hope found positives in the team’s performance, particularly with the ball.

“I still must give credit to the guys when they did well,” he said. “I think the bowlers hit their straps, especially in the first power play, some areas where we fell down in the last couple of years, so it’s good to see we can pick some positives from that first ODI.”

Conditions at Sabina Park on Monday when the third and final ODI was called off at Sabina Park on Monday.Garfield Robinson

The message to the squad was clear — treat every game like it’s the last.

“We still have to see the importance of playing every single moment we get,” Hope said. “We didn’t know what’s going to happen today [Monday] and the previous ODI. We start to learn, take the lessons from the first game.”

With New Zealand next on the calendar, Hope didn’t downplay the stakes. Five ODIs loom from July 11 to 21, and with World Cup qualification in the balance, each one is massive.

HOPE…every single game matters.

“This series is extremely important,” he said. “I always mention it, I will continue to stress it. Every single game matters. Especially now, I wouldn’t say it’s crunch time as yet, but the importance of every game, we need to look at it as the last one.”

Hope was careful not to heap pressure on the group, but made it clear the mindset has to shift.

“Not to put any pressure on the group, just to put some importance on what we have to do in the next coming days. Just got to keep learning from these experiences. I hope that the guys can transfer all the knowledge and the communication that we have amongst each other and put it into more successful performances as a team,” he said.