Lendl Simmons came in for significant criticism after playing one of the slowest T20 World Cup innings of all time in West Indies’ clash against South Africa.
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The opener faced 35 balls for his 16, the exact same number of balls faced by his opening partner, Evin Lewis, who fell for 56. His struggle to score was also shown up by Nicholas Pooran, promoted to No.3, who struck 12 off seven, a strike rate north of 170.
There have only been two slower innings of 30 balls or more in the men’s global event, with Scotland’s Majid Haq hitting 14 off 31, and Bangladesh’s Alok Kapali 14 off 35, both in the 2007 World T20. Simmons’ innings is joint with Matthew Cross’ 26* against Oman in the 2021 edition and that Kapali knock for the longest boundary-less innings in men’s T20 World Cup history.
Simmons was blasted for the go-slow. Some wondered if the West Indies management should take drastic measures to put Simmons out of his misery.
Strong case for West Indies to retire Simmons out here, given their batting depth – Bravo at No. 8 – and their middle order's record against left-arm spin?
— Matt Roller (@mroller98) October 26, 2021
Lendl Simmons (16 off 33 balls) is a clear example of why option of RETIRING OUT batters can be practiced in T20s and shouldn't be considered an insult to any batter's skills. Batters can struggle to hit/find form on a given day but such inns hurt your team's chances of winning.
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) October 26, 2021
With Simmons dropped by Heinrich Klaasen when he had four off 13, there was speculation, including from a former South Africa analyst, that the missed chance might have been a deliberate move.
Given how he's batting so far, the South Africans might just have dropped Lendl Simmons on purpose!
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) October 26, 2021
Klassen dropping Simmons might be a genuine strategy is what I feel.Not sure about what everyone feels about it
— Prasanna (@prasannalara) October 26, 2021
It was pointed out that eating up deliveries is nothing new for Simmons.
Lendl Simmons is dotting up here – and it's a long-running feature of his game. Of all T20I players to open as often as Simmons, only four have a higher dot ball percentage. After the collapse against England, Windies can't afford to go too far the other way.#T20WorldCup #SAvWI
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) October 26, 2021
There was even debate over whether Simmons’ innings might have been the worst in the history of the competition.
Lendl Simmons has probably played the worst ever knock of the T20 World Cup – 16 (35).
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 26, 2021
However, some were able to take positives from it. With West Indies’ six-or-bust batting approach seeing them dismissed for 56 in their opening clash against England, this was at least proof that the other method wasn’t any better.
https://twitter.com/benjonescricket/status/1452950482557800453
West Indies ended up making 143-8 in the pivotal game, with defeat for either side potentially fatal for their semi-final hopes.
