MANCHESTER: Pace­man Kemar Roach on Thursday said the future remains bright for the West Indies despite the team bowing out of the World Cup following their 125-run loss to India.

The Jason Holder-led side slumped to their fifth loss in seven league games including a washout after starting the tournament with a win over Pakistan.

Their defeat against India in Manchester finally ended their outside chances of reaching the semi-finals with two games still in hand in the round-robin competition.

The one-time cricket kings, who won the first two World Cup tournaments in 1975 and 1979, have struggled to maintain consistency in the last decade but Roach remains optimistic.

“I think we have a bright future. We have some quality players around,” said Roach, who stood out with figures of 3-36 to keep down India to 268-7 at Old Trafford. “[Shimron] Hetmyer and Oshane [Thomas], the younger guys, once they get some good guidance, they’ll do well for West Indies.

“I’ll always be a fan of West Indies cricket for sure. There’s a couple of guys back home doing well as well. So hopefully we’ll see these guys filter into the West Indies team.”

Hetmyer and Shai Hope have scored two half-centuries each in seven outings at the tournament while fast bowler Thomas has taken seven wickets.

But India’s bowlers, led by Mohammed Shami, once again exposed West Indies’ batting instability by bundling them out for 143 on Thursday.

Roach though said the team will only learn from playing a top team like India.

“I think playing against them, you know, is an eye-opener,” said Roach. “It’s a good test and obviously it’s a good lesson going forward into the rest of the tournament.”

The veteran quick, who has taken 120 wickets in 88 ODI matches since making his debut on 2009, said the team will keep their spirits up.

“It’s the World Cup — the best 10 teams are here. So coming up against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan is going to be just as tough as any other game,” said the 30-year-old Roach. “It’s all about us staying positive, execute on our plans.”

West Indies next face Sri Lanka at the Riverside in Chester-le-Street on Monday.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2019