You can’t hate the West Indies.
Best known for their golden days during the 1970s and 1980s and their modern T20 beasts, they recently completed an epic backs-to-the-wall Test series win in Bangladesh.
However, they’re still lacking in white-ball cricket – a serious omission with back-to-back T20 World Cups years coming up.
The West Indies recently announced their squad for the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka. The T20 squad included Chris Gayle for the first time in almost two years and the 39-year-old Fidel Edwards, who last played international cricket in 2012.
(Photo by Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
It hasn’t been said explicitly, but there’s a feeling the West Indies want to fully exploit their T20 A-grade stars in time for the World Cup. This includes the likes of Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Evin Lewis et cetera.
Don’t get me wrong, those are some elite players, but it’s not 2014 anymore. The West Indies need to look past some of those players.
Ahead of the 2019 ODI World Cup the West Indies followed a similar approach. Chris Gayle found superb form at home against England and Andre Russell was coming off an MVP performance in the IPL. Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard were named on the reserve players list. Sunil Narine even said that the board asked him to play but that he was nursing an injury.
But the stars didn’t perform consistently, and the West Indies returned only two wins in the tournament and just one after their emphatic opening win against Pakistan. Clearly the strategy of leaning on the old guard led to disappointment.
After the World Cup the side felt they needed change, and this came in the form of giving Kieron Pollard a comeback as captain in the white-ball format. Dwayne Bravo has also since come out of international retirement, and stars like Gayle, Narine, Russell, Carlos Brathwaite have been in and out of the team.
I stress again that these players are decent quality, but why should the West Indies keep relying on them in big moments when they are much more interested in making money by playing T20 tournaments around the world? This idea was best exemplified in November when West Indies coach Phil Simmons was unaware that Andre Russell was taking part in the Sri Lankan Premier League and had declined to tour with the national team in New Zealand.
These big names have done a lot for the West Indies, but they could’ve had even more substantial international careers had they shown proper dedication instead of showing up only when there’s a World Cup around the corner. Yes, they won the West Indies two T20 World Cups, but they have also been a big part of the team’s decline in the last several years.
If they can stay committed, that’s great, but if not, they don’t deserve so many recalls.
In the recent tour of Bangladesh up to 12 players both young and old declined to take part due to fears around COVID-19 – though one wonders whether those same fears would’ve prevailed had it been the IPL calling.
This led to a great opportunity for some youngsters and domestically proven players to play, including Kyle Mayers, Nkrumah Bonner and Joshua Da Silva. The ODIs were poor, but the Test series was very promising, including that eye-catching 395-run chase in the first match. It will be very interesting to see if the West Indies retain this new core for their next Test series.
Contrasting the differences between this tour of Bangladesh and other recent international series, it is very important the West Indies find the perfect blend of experienced stars and new talent to succeed. The main goal should be playing guys who are committed to West Indies cricket and reward players who have succeeded domestically.
World cricket needs a strong West Indies side. This is the way to get it.
Dunno 'bout that
Guest
West Indies cricket has only been putting teams out there for 100 years. It is disorganised and a mess which is their own fault.
Peter Farrar
Roar Pro
I've always found it interesting how the West Indies sides were so brilliant and dominant, but only to eventually go into a decline they've struggled to come out of. There was a period, under Jimmy Adams as captain I think, where they lost 7 games in Australia in succession, test and tour matches included. One loss was a one dayer to an Australia Institute of Sport side. It's said Clive Lloyd was one of the few leaders able to truly captain the side with all those players technically from differing countries where there were even some language differences. I remain in awe of that era of their success and can only wonder if they will again one day field such a gifted team.
Arj
Roar Rookie
I’m not the biggest expert on WI cricket but I’ll do my best haha. For sure I reckon the attitudes of the old stars may impact the new young talent. Just look at Jofra Archer, he chose England over WI because he wanted to play test cricket more often. In saying this, I still think Jason Holder has done a solid job in his tenure as test captain with the options he’s had and as I mentioned the tour of Bangladesh should give them more confidence. Maybe if their best current players continue to play bilateral series the board can generate more revenue and hence pay increases. I also think a big board like Cricket Australia should organise more series with the WI, to help them financially. It’s been a long time since we’ve played them. This years t20 WC is the first one in over 5 years, so hopefully there will be some decent build up and teams will plan properly. But yeah there is another one next year, so maybe the WI can have a go this year with their old guard and then reasses next year if necessary. The WI may certainly feel more passionate towards it because they are the reigning champs of course and their bilateral series performances have declined significantly, (now ranked number 10). The last question I’m not fully sure. The WI seem like a pretty tight group, so I’m sure to an extent Pollard will be trying to encourage his mates to step up in time for the WC. Another thing that impacts selection, I forgot to mention in the article, recently WI, like many other teams, have a strong emphasise on fitness to make the team. This is why the likes of Hetmyer, Cottrell, Roston Chase didn’t make the squads for SL. This could also impact veterans coming back into the side.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Great thought provoker, I see your frustration Arj, most countries want the next generation to be promoted and I agree with you, however I’d be interested if you have a theory on a coupla questions? What is the mindset of the younger brigade who have seen their stars choose when they want to play for the national team, earn far more money than they can on national duty and then get picked anyway? Hard to blame them if there’s no real desire to wear the maroon and there’s no real inducement. The other way I look at it is that unlike a marquee Test tour or 50 over World Cup every 4 years to aim towards and develop a squad and game plan, the T20I World Cup every year or so means you can play in form 37-40 year olds as the tournament length is no different to any league and if they don’t do well…..there’s another one next year. It doesn’t have the same sense of missed opportunities a quadrennial tournament blowout has. It’s got to be hard for a national setup and coach to set a plan though if they’re playing lead in fixtures and don’t know who they’ll have! My other question is, what influence does Pollard have over the team selection? Is he pushing for these older guys?
Mooty
Roar Rookie
Unlike other countries the West Indies is not a country, but an amalgam of small islands and larger republics, which would make it very hard to put together a competitive team. You then have the problem that they are not playing for their respective countries, therefore a lack of motivation. The West Indies cricket board should be congratulated that they can make it happen at all. It doesn’t help when the faint hearted tv station and big bash organisers banned Gayle for the very thing he was being payed for, to put bums on seats and glue people to the tv
Arj
Roar Rookie
Yeah fair enough. I know theres a lot of complicated issues with the WI board, so it does make sense they prefer t20 leagues. Like I mentioned I do still believe they are still very good players, but what be nice if they were consistent in bilateral series as well. I think it’s about time the WI are invited to play here in Australia as well.
Arj
Roar Rookie
On paper yeah they could be favourites, they just need consistency
Paul
Roar Guru
Thanks for a very entertaining first piece Arj. I'm thinking most people who like the game would have the Windies as their second favourite team. They seem to play with obvious joy and when they play well, with a lot of skill and flair. That said, West Indies cricket is a really complex issue. We all know a lot of these cricketers came from poor families and rightly want to make as much money as they can, while they can. The West Indies Board doesn't offer high value contracts but naturally still wants it's best cricketers to play for them. The issue is how many don't play regularly for the West Indies but do when World Cups, etc come around? I see no problem with this and in fact, think it's a good thing. Young players need to earn the right to represent their nation and if the Windies selectors think Gayle, Pollard and co are their best bet to win the WC, that's their call, just as it's likely guys like Adil Rashid, who has decided to focus on white ball cricket. I suspect with the big money on offer, more and more guys from other nations will do what these West Indies players are doing.
Arnab Bhattacharya
Roar Guru
Regarding Russell: He wants to only play for West Indies when 100% fit. The players chase the cash since they get paid peanuts by WICB. Phil Simmons is a quality coach and knows how to get the gang back together. Since it’s in India this year, Windies are favourites for T20WC