Harare [Zimbabwe], June 17 : West Indies assistant coach Carl Hooper believes if they fail to qualify for the upcoming Cricket World Cup 2023, it will mark a new 'low' for the team.
In order to qualify for the CWC 2023, West Indies will have to compete with nine other teams in Zimbabwe to qualify for the ODI World Cup. They will open their campaign against the United States of America (USA) on Sunday.
West Indies are ranked tenth in ODI cricket, below Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Hooper called their situation 'distressing.'
"The position hasn't changed. The point is can we go lower than this? Yes, we can go lower than this and if we don't qualify, we go a step lower. Never thought that I'd live to see the day where West Indies are trying to qualify for major tournaments. I sat in Australia, and we struggled to get through it in the T20s and here we are in Zimbabwe," Hooper was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.
"No disrespect to the other teams, but we're playing against the likes of the USA, Nepal and Scotland. Even Afghanistan is ahead of us, and Bangladesh has gone ahead of us. So, this is distressing, and can we go lower? Yes, we can go lower. This game continues to remind you that until you start doing the right things, you can go lower. As I said before, I never thought I would live to see this day, but here I am in Zimbabwe, starting a game on Sunday. We've got to try and beat the USA," Hopper added.
After West Indies crashed out of the T20 World Cup in Australia, Phil Simmons decided to step down from the position of head coach. Along with this, wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran also gave up the white-ball captaincy.
After their departure, Daren Sammy, Shai Hope, Hooper and Co have tuned up for the World Cup Qualifier with a 3-0 sweep of the UAE earlier this month.
West Indies will back themselves up with the return of their IPL stars, who had been rested during the UAE tour.
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