If you had told anyone at the start of the year that come April, the West Indies would be Under-19 World Cup as well as men and women’s World T20 champions, you probably would have been laughed at. But cricket is a funny game and here we are.

The West Indies men notched up an emphatic win over England with Carlos Brathwaite hammering 19 runs off the final over to take his side to a four-wicket win and see them become the first team to take the trophy for the second time. The win came after the women had beaten Australia earlier in the day and was – by their own admission – fuelled by Mark Nicholas’ comments calling them “short of brains”.

As with Tony Greig’s “grovel” comments in the 1970s, the Windies seem to be at their best when they are riled by adversity. The lead-up to this tournament had been marred by contract disputes and even the suspension of their coach, but they responded perfectly to the pressure.

And, as finals go, it had everything. Batting collapses, brilliant yorkers, failures from the big-name batsmen and a thrilling finish. And the two teams’ batting innings were pretty similar: a constant state of needing to rebuild, but in the end it was the West Indies who clobbered together something from shaky foundations.

Needing 156 to win after having won the toss and bowling first, the Windies top order stuttered. Just one player in the top three – Marlon Samuels – managed to get into double figures. Samuels’ knock, 85 off 66, would prove pivotal in the chase as wickets continued to tumble and England took the match to the last over thanks to some fine bowling from David Willey, Liam Plunket and Adil Rashid.

But all that hard work would be undone by a swashbuckling cameo from Brathwaite, the 27-year-old who had played just seven T20s for the Windies before Sunday. Chris Jordan had done a good job with the penultimate over, conceding just eight runs. All of England’s frontline bowlers had completed their overs and captain Eion Morgan had no choice but to turn to Ben Stokes. From the very first ball of the final over, Stokes got it wrong and as his fourth delivery sailed over deep midwicket, he could do nothing but succumb to his disappointment.

Throughout it all, though, the West Indies did what they do best: stayed cool. Having won the toss and electing to bowl first, the Windies had to bowl well and they did just that. Samuel Badree, who has been key throughout the tournament, provided the impetus with two wickets in the first five overs.

Andre Russell chipped in early, too, and with England 23-3 after 4.4 overs, the men from the Caribbean were right on track. But, as he has so often done for England, Joe Root stepped in and set up a partnership with Jos Buttler to steer his side back in the right direction. The pair knuckled down for 61 runs off just 6.4 overs before Buttler was foxed by a back of the length delivery which he hit straight to midwicket and had to go for 36 off 22.

Dangerman Ben Stokes would come and go, managing just 13 off eight deliveries and this time it was Dwayne Bravo who would curtail England’s charge. He struck twice in three balls to dismantle England’s foundation, using the slower ball bouncer to great effect. Had it not been for his efforts, England’s total might have been just a tad more intimidating.

It was everything the organisers would have hoped a final to be after India were knocked out in the semi-finals, and for West Indies cricket this could be a pivotal moment. The West Indies are not like other cricketing nations, because they are not a nation at all. They are an often fragmented region, united by calypso cricket.

Across the region, their identities blend together by playing a brand of cricket filled with swagger. It has elevated them to be ranked second in the T20 format while worryingly declining in the 50-over and Test format. They are a T20 specialist team filled with mercenaries who can hardly be blamed for taking up big-money contracts when their board treats them like a devaluing asset. This tournament, for the men and women, as well as the win for the Under-19s earlier this year, should provide the foundation for the team to rebalance itself, but if Darren Sammy’s post-match comments are anything to go by, they probably won’t.

“We were disrespected by our board. To come out and play this sort of cricket in front of passionate fans was amazing. The trouble our manager got into to get us into this uniform was just beyond words. This win is for the people in the Caribbean. Everybody in the West Indies are champions,” Sammy said at the post-match press conference.

Both the men and women have had to battle a divided bureaucracy more interested in squabbling than uniting. But, unlike the men, their plight is rarely covered in the press. For the women, the challenge is not just about the funding.

Across the region, women battle access to resources and, as a result, the number of young girls taking up the sport remains limited. The victory for the women, then, has the power to transcend simply the good feeling that comes from winning a global tournament in such convincing fashion.

They brought to an end years of Australian dominance – the Aussies had won the tournament on the last three occasion – despite not having even an ounce of the professionalism that pulsates through the Australian set-up. More important, perhaps, is the way in which the Windies women won. Sporting finals – for both men and women – have the tendency to be boring as teams opt for conservatism over digging in and getting on with it, but not so for the Windies women. They chased down 149 in emphatic fashion, losing just two wickets in the process as 18-year-old Hayley hit 66 off just 45 balls to help leader side to victory.

In the greater cricketing context, the win underscores that women’s cricket is becoming increasingly competitive, even if teams across the world have to battle with limited resources. Every country’s challenge is different; for almost all, it’s funding. For others, like the West Indies, it’s players taking up the sport.

Merissa Aguilleira, one of the Windies’ most experienced players, said last week that she hoped winning a trophy would be the watershed moment that leads to a revolution in interest.

“We have a very small number of young girls willing to take up cricket. But, at the end of the day, if we can win (the World T20) here and inspire the next generation back home, I am sure the sport will attract more of them, and with that, the facilities too will bloom even more.”

It’s an endearing notion, but not unfeasible. Following the 2012 London Olympics, there was a boom in people taking up cycling as Great Britain took eight gold medals. The government’s Ride to Work scheme saw a 30% increase in uptake in the third quarter of 2012 compared with 2011. Most of those new to the scheme had hardly ever cycled before. The biggest increase was from July to August where there was a 150% increase in people joining from the same period in 2011.

Those are pretty impressive numbers and with women’s cricket now getting at least some sort of media exposure, it is not unthinkable that there will be a boom in young women taking up the sport in the Caribbean, especially if they know that it has now become a feasible career option. The trick will be keeping them interested. Combine the uptake of cricket by young women and the management of the young talent who won the Under-19 World Cup and you have opportunity the West Indies Cricket Board cannot afford to squander. Sadly, if their previous track record is anything to go by, they will. DM

Scorecard summary: West Indies won by four runs (two balls remaining)

England 155-9: Joe Root 54 (36), Jos Buttler 36 (22); Samuel Badree 4-1-16-2, Andre Russell 4-1-21-

West Indies 161-6: Marlon Samuels 85* (66), Carlos Brathwaite 34* (10); David Willey 4-0-20-3, Adil Rashid 4-0-23-1

Photo: West Indian cricketer Carlos Brathwaite bowls during a training session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, Australia, on 24 December 2015. Brathwaite shone in the World T20. EPA/JULIAN SMITH