Prior to the Men's T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November, West Indies head coach Phil Simmons said that his batsmen urgently needed consistency in batting and an awareness of game situations after his team lost the fifth and final T20I to India by 88 runs.
West Indies' batting never seemed to be in the hunt of chasing scores of 192 and 189, respectively, in the back-to-back T20Is played in Florida on Saturday and Sunday. Instead, they were skittled out for 132 and 100 in the subsequent T20Is, losing the series 4-1.
The main lesson, in my opinion, is that we parted with our wickets a little too cheaply. And if we keep batting (deep), we will catch up with the run rate, but the biggest thing we need to take away from this series is that we keep losing too many wickets. The most important thing is that we need to bat in a format, Simmons remarked at the news conference following the game.
Simmons went on to expound on his expectations for West Indies' T20I batting in the future. "We must be able to bat for the six overs (of the powerplay) and be aware of our batting strategy during those overs. Once we stop dropping wickets, we'll start making big gains.
"Although we have the players—Hetty (Hetmyer) demonstrated that he is back in form; Rovman (Powell); and (Nicholas) Pooran, who has contributed a little bit as the series has progressed—nobody has been reliable throughout. Therefore, I believe that is what we need right now: consistency, recognising the game's circumstances and knowing how to play it."
Simmons also acknowledged that West Indies hasn't decided on its team for the Men's T20 World Cup. West Indies will play three Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) against New Zealand in Jamaica beginning on August 11 before confirming their World Cup roster, where they are positioned in Round One against Zimbabwe, Scotland, and Ireland in Group B.
"It's challenging. But I believe we still have three games left (against New Zealand). After that, we will decide who best suits the style of play we wish to employ. The three games, in my opinion, will be crucial for many players as well as some players who will be rested. However, in general, we will need to decide what to do next."
To challenge the top teams in T20I cricket, West Indies would need to work as a team with both the bat and the ball, Simmons concluded. "Playing against India would always be challenging. Man for man, this T20 team is the greatest in the world. But we did manage to compete briefly, occasionally using the ball and occasionally the bat."
"But most likely we never combine everything. We are going to learn that lesson from this. To defeat the elite teams, we must work as a team that day."