Captain Jason Holder does not believe West Indies having to play in a qualifying tournament to reach the 2019 World Cup in England is an embarrassment for the Caribbean side.
Hosts England and the remaining top seven teams in the ICC rankings at the September 30 cutoff date will earn direct qualification to the showpiece.
But with the Windies languishing ninth, they face the increasing likelihood of having to contest a 10-nation qualifier – comprising ICC associate nations like the Netherlands and Scotland – in order to secure one of the last two World Cup spots.
“I don’t think it is embarrassing,” Holder said following Wednesday’s rained off One-Day International against Ireland.
The abandoned ODI at Stormont saw the Windies hopes of direct qualification suffer yet another blow. They needed to beat the Irish as well as also defeat England at least 4-1 in the upcoming five-match series starting next week.
However, the Windies can now ill-afford to lose any of the contests against England, leaving them with little margin for error.
Holder, who also led the Windies at the last World Cup in 2015 in Australia and New Zealand, said their ultimate goal was to qualify for the tournament regardless of the route.
I agree. I don’t see it as too much of an embarrassment that they have to play that tournament. What would be embarrassing is if they don’t make it through. I am eager to see how the team fares against supposedly lesser opposition to get an idea of what the state of the team really is.