Allrounder Roston Chase says the beauty of West Indies’ run at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup so far is that there hasn’t been a dependency on one player to get the job done for the regional team. 

The West Indies coasted through group C with a perfect record after registering victories against Scotland, England, Nepal, and Italy. Batting first in three of their four matches, the team’s highest score to date is the 196 for six they posted against England in their second game. Meanwhile, with ball in hand, the Men in Maroon have taken 38 out of a possible 40 wickets, having bowled out the opposition in three of the four games. 

As 11 players from the 15-man squad trained at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 21 – the venue for the team’s Super 8 opener against Zimbabwe on February 23 – Chase commended the all-round display from his teammates so far, and said their job isn’t quite done yet. 

“I think that's great, because then the team can depend on any person in the XI. It's not one person we look to depend on in every game, and if that person fails, we're under pressure,” Chase told Cricket West Indies (CWI) Media. 

“Everyone is just pulling their weight and knows their roles and playing them to the best of our ability. It's good that different guys can step up when needed in pressure situations as well.” 

With back-to-back fifties in the last two matches of the group stage, skipper Shai Hope currently leads the West Indies in the run-scoring department with 155 runs at an average of 51.67. Hope started the tournament shakily with scores of 19 and nought in the first two games, but has since bounced back to lead from atop the order. The Guyanese pair of Shimron Hetmyer and Sherfane Rutherford have also shown good form thus far, racking up 134 and 126 runs, respectively. Hetmyer claimed Man of the Match honours in the first game against Scotland with a brutal 64 off 36 balls, with Rutherford spanking a T20 International career-best of 76 not out versus England in the second match. 

The Jamaican pair of Brandon King (62 runs in four innings) and former captain Rovman Powell (47 runs in three innings) have both played cameos but are yet to find their best form, while Jason Holder showed off his might when he cracked four sixes against England in a 17-ball 33. Chase himself has had two knocks in the middle, with a laboured 24 off 25 against Italy following up his 29-ball 34 against the English. 

Stacked with a powerful line-up which is known for clearing boundaries at will, Chase pointed to an improvement in the team’s dot-ball percentage – an area which has been a sore point for many years. 

“The batting in the middle overs has really pleased me so far, because we usually tend to face too many dot balls in the middle against the spin. But I think we've been rotating the strike well in the middle overs, along with picking up the odd boundary. Then we've been finishing the innings lovely,” the Windies Test skipper said. 

On the bowling front, four Windies bowlers have taken five wickets or more, with Holder and Shamar Joseph leading the way with seven wickets apiece. Joseph landed his career-best of four for 30 when he cleaned up Italy’s tail at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Also, it must be noted that Romario Shepherd, who took a five-wicket haul in the team’s opener against Scotland, has only bowled four overs in the tournament and missed the last two games with what was described as a minor niggle. Shepherd’s replacement Matthew Forde has made the most of his opportunities so far and has taken four wickets at a miserly economy rate of 4.40 runs per over. 

“I think we've been keeping it tight throughout the innings. I just think we need to tighten up on the power play. But once we tighten up on that, I think we'll be great,” Chase said. 

In the Super 8 phase, the West Indies will face off against all the group winners from the opening round, with South Africa and reigning champions India rounding off their Super 8 section. Chase assured the regional team won’t drop their guard. 

“I think the preparation in terms of practising, and also the analytical side in terms of planning and being strategic in the boardroom…I think that's what has paid off for us. We're not taking any team lightly. Each team is a threat to us, and we want to take them down.”