"We Don't Deserve to be in Qualifiers," Say Jangoo After New Zealand Loss

BRIDGETOWN: West Indies' hopes of avoiding another ICC Men's ODI World Cup qualifying campaign are fading after their latest defeat to New Zealand, with batter Amir Jangoo admitting the team has failed to convert its potential into results.

New Zealand's one-wicket victory in Barbados secured the five-match series with one game remaining and left West Indies facing another difficult route to the 2027 World Cup. The Caribbean side also missed the previous edition after failing to progress through the qualification tournament.

Jangoo believes the dressing room contains enough talent to compete directly at World Cups, but accepted performances have not matched expectations.

"The kind of quality that this team has, I think we don't deserve to be going to the qualifiers," Jangoo said.

"It's just that's the position that we're in. But we know the quality that we have in our dressing room… all the bowlers, even young Vitel Lawes that we see making a breakthrough in this series here. So it's great signs to see. Going forward now, we have to play the right cricket and get those wins on the board for West Indies."

Runs Remain the Biggest Concern

The fourth ODI followed a familiar pattern for the hosts. Despite Jangoo returning to the side and finishing as West Indies' highest scorer with 51, the batting unit again failed to build a competitive total. The innings ended inside 45 overs, extending a worrying trend after two earlier collapses in the series.

Jangoo admitted the repeated failures with the bat have become the team's biggest concern.

"We haven't batted 50 overs in three games now," he said.

"So I think that's on us, something that we have to look at internally in ourselves as batsmen and see how much we can better ourselves. And we have one more game to rectify that."

Although Gudakesh Motie produced a five-wicket haul to keep West Indies in the contest, New Zealand recovered to complete the chase and take an unassailable lead.

Qualification Focus Replaces Series Ambitions

Jangoo said the squad must quickly move on from the disappointment and use the remaining fixture as the first step toward improvement.

"[It's a] pretty difficult pill to swallow because we know how much was at stake here for this game. So it's all about understanding where we went wrong. We know the quality that we have in our team. I think going forward, we know what we have to work on, and for the qualifiers, we'll be ready."

The final ODI now offers West Indies an opportunity to end the series with a victory, while New Zealand will be aiming to complete a commanding finish after recovering from defeat in the opening match.