West Indies coach Stuart Law is looking to the remainder of the ODI series against England to help him build a settled team ahead of next year’s World Cup qualifying tournament.
Defeat in the first ODI at Old Trafford on Tuesday ended West Indies’ hopes of gaining direct entry to the 2019 World Cup in Britain.
Instead the two-time champion will now have to come through a qualifying tournament, set to take place in Zimbabwe early next year, if it is to secure a spot in the business end of the showpiece 50-over event.
West Indies reached the first three World Cup finals, all staged in England, winning the inaugural edition in 1975 and repeating that achievement in 1979 before suffering a shock defeat by India at Lord’s in the climax of the 1983 edition.
But this year saw the Caribbean side fail to qualify for the elite Champions Trophy one-day tournament as they were outside the world’s top eight 50-over teams. So it was no surprise when West Indies missed out on an automatic place at the World Cup.
“Our plan is to go to Zimbabwe next year with a settled team,” Law told reporters at Trent Bridge.
