This T20 World Cup offers a great chance to the West Indies to redeem themselves at the international stage. Despite their rich legacy, Caribbean cricket has been on a slippery slope for long, their recent failure to make it to the ODI World Cup pushing them further down the pit.
But they can pull themselves up in this T20 showpiece. As co-hosts with the USA, the West Indies will have a definite advantage because of their familiarity with the conditions. How prepared are they? Their performance against Papua New Guinea in Georgetown, Guyana, on Sunday might be an indication.
The Windies, who by the way are two-time T20 champions, have a strong squad which includes their star T20 specialists Andre Russell and Shimron Hetmyer. But will they play as a unit to bring back the glory days?
With Darren Sammy as the coach, they have a person who knows how to get the job done. Sammy was the captain of the West Indies’ T20 World Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2016. The onus will thus be on Sammy to keep the team focused.
In the other match of the day, the USA will take on neighbours Canada in Dallas. Captained by Indian-origin player Monank Patel, the US team created quite a flutter when they defeated Bangladesh 2-1 in a T20I series in the run-up to the Cup.
With a team full of expatriates, the USA, coached by Australian Stuart Law, will be the favourites against Canada. Former New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson also plays for the US.