They began with a bang by bouncing out Pakistan and sealing the deal with more than 36 overs to spare in a paltry run chase of 106. That was set up by hostile bowling from 22-year-old Oshane Thomas with figures of 4 for 27 amid support from his captain Jason Holder and other fast bowling colleagues. Their plan was to pitch it short at a good pace and cramp the batsmen for room to free their arms. Such was the web spun by West Indies that even deliveries on leg stump, which deserved poor treatment, earned them wickets.

A week later against Australia, they stuck to the same plan of bowling short with ferocious pace, leaving the batsmen nowhere to hide. The tournament favorites had been reduced to 38 for 4, with two of those dismissals a result of pressure from incessant short bowling. The fifth scalp arrived a while later, and it all seemed hunky dory for West Indies in the second match of their World Cup campaign.

But with that sixth wicket stand between Steven Smith and Alex Carey to repair the damage, the West Indies' journey took a U-turn never to have revived since. The bowlers, so far on song, either pitched it too short or too full; Nathan Coulter-Nile, from number eight, smashed 92 off just 60 balls - the highest score from that position in a World Cup game. On his way, Coulter-Nile was dropped on 61 and that made all the difference in the end, with West Indies falling short by 15 runs while having to chase 289.

Not all of the blame goes to Shimron Hetmyer, the culprit, though; a lot of it had to do with poor shot selection by Andre Russell and Carlos Braithwaite at a crucial stage, knowing perfectly well that responsible innings would have ensured another West Indies win. But before all of that, how did they even have to go in pursuit of such a huge score when Australia was 147 for 6 at one stage?

The misery continued at Southampton, where the match was washed out after Sheldon Cottrell plucked two early top-order wickets; and at the same ground four days later, a below-par performance with the bat meant England would dominate a run chase of just 213. Six out of the top eight - with certainly all of them capable of a big score and a long stay at the crease - threw away decent starts. Most notably, Hetmyer and Holder were both dismissed by part-timer Joe Root, summing up their sorry state of batting.