The decline of West Indian Test cricket has been as much a result of poor attitude as a lack of talent.
The once dominant nation have been Test easybeats since the retirement in 2000 of Sir Curtly Ambrose, one of the five best pacemen of all time.
In the post-Ambrose era, their win-loss record in Tests has been a ghastly 25-77. They have only won three of their past 15 Tests and two of those wins were against Bangladesh.
While Ambrose and his long-time new ball partner Courtney Walsh were ceaselessly competitive, the past 15 years of West Indian Test performances have been marred by efforts which have ranged from ill-advisedly cavalier, to dispirited to flat-out uninterested.
Far too many West Indian players blessed with considerable natural gifts have failed to exploit them. Largely, that has been due to lack of personal endeavor and a similarly poor team environment.
Batsmen regularly have followed scintillating centuries with runs of low scores caused by lazy strokes. Bowlers have torn through line-ups only to spend the next few Tests failing to complete their actions properly and operating with far less venom.
Winning positions have been frittered away like chips at a Bahamas casino. One wicket lost has become two, has become three has become yet another horrendous batting collapse.
Their Test opponents know that, even when the West Indies got on top, all that is needed is to remain patient. They might dominate an hour, a session, or even a full innings. But, at some point, they will subside and hand you a chance to swiftly undo all their good work.
After the first Test there were signs that maybe, just maybe, that may be starting to change for the better. At Antigua, they were asked to bat for 130 overs to save the match against an England attack which had six wicket-taking options on a dusty deck.
I gave them zero chance of doing so. It would have been a difficult task for any batting side, even those famously patient and tenacious fellows from South Africa.
For a flaky line-up like the West Indies it seemed akin to being asked to chase down 500 in an ODI – impossible. But two of the new leaders in West Indian cricket – Test skipper Dinesh Ramdin and ODI captain Jason Holder – set a fresh standard for their teammates.
Together, the numbers seven and eight batsmen soaked up 290 balls, delivering the West Indies a draw that must have felt like a rousing victory.
The utter devastation etched on Ramdin’s face when he was dismissed with 18 overs left to survive spoke of a man playing with complete dedication and intense passion. Those attributes, which could also be identified in Holder’s gallant innings, have long been missing from West Indian cricket.
One man who sums up the wasted talent of West Indian cricket perhaps better than any other is Marlon Samuels. In the same year that Ambrose departed, Samuels debuted as a 19-year-old with generous gifts.
Yet his displays with the blade have swayed back and forth between the remarkable and the ridiculous over the course of much of his 57-Test career. Finally, though, he has found a degree of rhythm.
Belatedly, he is beginning to cash in on his god-given ability. While he still is not a completely reliable batsman, he has made encouraging advancements in that direction.
Over his past 14 Tests, Samuels has made 1002 runs at an average of 44, while also chipping in with 14 wickets at 38. Among that haul of runs have been several wonderful knocks.
First came his 260 in Bangladesh during which he spent 10 hours and 18 minutes at the crease – an amount of time that previously would have been spread over eight or nine innings.
Then arrived his 101 at Port Elizabeth against Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel. In the next Test, he made 117 runs across two innings on what was a fairly lively Cape Town deck.
Lastly, in this second Test against England, he stuck around for five hours in making 103 to hold his side’s together in the first dig. In the second he batted against nature in nudging the ball around for 155 minutes en route to a painstaking 37.
Yet his dismissal came amid a familiar collapse by his side’s batting line-up on day five. At 2-224, with a lead of 59, the Windies were perfectly placed to save the Test and enter the third and final match with a chance of a famous series win.
Instead, they lost 8-83 and in doing so swept away any gains made by Holder and Ramdin in the first Test. In closing out a dominant nine-wicket wicket, England have earned a degree of momentum and assuredness that will probably see them win the series 2-0.
Then the Windies will enter their June Test series against Australia once again bereft of confidence and form. With the men from the Caribbean continuing to lack even a modicum of consistency, it’s hard not to see them being bullied by the Australians.
Danno74
Guest
Marlon Samuels is very similar to Carl Hooper. Very gifted but a poor record considering their talent.
JimmyB
Guest
Blackadder!!??!
Nudge
Guest
Who's Balddick?
P.RamaSaran
Guest
Wicb needs a relook at their test cricket. And also consistency of newly inducted players. Probably it is time to give full freedom to Clive Lloyd to take charge of the selection.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
"A “sinister green top” on which India scored 650 runs and won by the best part of 100 in a test match that lasted the full five days? So how exactly did that cunning plan work out Baldrick?" Anyone who watched that Test understands how it happened.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Nope...my last article simply said Windies quicks would be more dangerous than their spinners, despite the dry pitches.
Homer Gain
Guest
A "sinister green top" on which India scored 650 runs and won by the best part of 100 in a test match that lasted the full five days? So how exactly did that cunning plan work out Baldrick? At Old Trafford India were indeed bowled out (twice) for barely three hundred runs, but as England managed 367 in their one innings it hardly sounds like Perth. Moreover, as India managed to be bowled out (twice) for less than 250 on the same flat track at the Oval on which England scored almost 500 in one innings, that suggests incompetent batting was more to blame than dastardly English groundsmen. Anyway, now we both know each others' opinion on this matter, I really would like your (or anyone else's) explanation for the current state of Windies Test match pitches. Some bugger must have an answer.
Sanjay Poojar
Guest
I say that Ashwin will crush Auzzie bats next time in India Troll or not Thank you
Alexander Bonacci
Roar Rookie
If they could actually be consistent they would be a scary team to face, not so much the bowling but the patting, but like others have stated they are all going for the riches of the T20 formats and that hinders there long form game as they dont play much red ball cricket. It's sad to see them go down this path. Like someone else has posted maybe its time they give up on Test and focus on short form cricket unless they get more guys like Ramdin and Holder. Would currently almost be worth giving an associate team a chance of playing test cricket.
Terry Kidd
Guest
Hahahahaha ..... Ryan 6 days ago you wrote an article suggesting that Australia will struggle against the Windies pace attack. Now you say Australia will monster the Windies. Lol, why don't you tell us what you really think.
The Bush
Roar Guru
No doubt Ronan, the problem is that they will never become a cohesive unit. As stated, they lack a true unifying sense by being a cobbled together outfit, whilst their lack of money means you're going to have the Gayle's of the world following T20 tournaments around the world instead of focusing on Test Cricket.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Cheers Camo, Samuels is a delight to watch with the bat it's just a pity it took him more than a decade in international cricket to start playing with some consistent commitment.
Armchair Expert
Guest
I recall Robert Samuels showing tenacity and commitment as an opening batsman in a Perth test in the mid 90s, which was probably the last time the Windies won a test in Australia, he made around 100 runs for the test and was rewarded by being dropped and never played test cricket again.
Sideline Comm.
Guest
It is a shame to see those fellas in the IPL, but I believe it is still boil over from the India tour debacle a while back.
Sideline Comm.
Guest
America's influence is all felt I believe, with baseball and football taking some of the best talent.
Camo McD
Roar Guru
Great article Ronan. I'm so glad you mentioned Marlon Samuels. His output in the last few years has been pretty good and he has really matured. From what I can gather his two year suspension was extremely harsh but you can see what it means to him to be back. He still looks pretty casual on the field but he's playing with real passion. Entertaining confrontations with Stokes too. Hope the Windies can knock England over in the 3rd test but getting 20 wickets has been a huge challenge for a long time.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
"I’d like to see the evidence for that." The UK editor of Cricinfo described the pitch for last year's Lords Test against India as a "sinister greentop". It offered as generous seam movement as I've seen from any Test surface. The Old Trafford pitch was also far livelier than it was the previous year, and the deck was described variously as "spiced up", "juiced" and "made to order" by the UK media.
deccas
Guest
It is so sad seeing the Windies decline. I was too young to see the great windies sides, and my earliest cricket watching memory was a windies tour around 95. The Windies all time test team would probably be close to the best all time test team. Marshall, Holding and Ambrose, Headley, Viv, Sobers and Lara alongside many others would certainly be a tough proposition for any team. Things do look like they are turning a corner slightly though, despite how many false dawns we have seen. Chanderpaul looks like its time to call curtains, he has failed in every innings against a pretty poor England bowling line up. Bravo is inconsistent but still averages in the 40s batting at 3, and he is still a young man. Alongside Blackwood Braithwaite and Holder there is the the best part of a decent batting line up in few years. Aside from bravo none of these batsmen are bolters, they seem to be grafters, the sort of players that you would expect to resist the terrible collapses too common for the Windies of late. Once Chanderpaul retires they can put Holder in at 6 and they start looking reasonable. That lets them play all of Taylor Roach and Gabriel a spinner and then the best other 5 batsmen and Ramdin they can name, most of whom are young and already in the test team. I guess we will see, but there might be light at the end of the tunnel yet, even if they are not within coo'ee of their great teams of the past.
Homer Gain
Guest
I'd like to see the evidence for that (beyond the serial lack of interest on display from India's India's test batsmen). As Australia demonstrated more than once in 2013 (and England likewise the following winter) flat pitches are no guarantee against inept batting. The fact remains that the batsman's nightmare that was Headingly, the pacey, almost Caribbean style of the Oval, even the Lord's ridge are distant memories, whilst the new test venues (the Rose Bowl, Cardiff and Durham) are all bland replicas. Can I assume that the house "expert's" preference for a cheap crack rather than an answer to a genuine question means that he doesn't know the answer?
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
There is massive natural talent in that top six you listed, the problem is the only one who's gone close to getting the best out of themselves is Chanderpaul.