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The West Indies were once the powerhouse of World Cricket, consisting of charismatic players like Sir Vivian Richards, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Joel Garner and Sir Richie Richardson. These types of players changed the game and were ahead of their time, whom many looked up to.
But the certain swagger accompanied by gold chains and chewing gum has evaporated dramatically. The Windies have turned a much loved television show we all had our eyes glued to, into a show that has been cancelled.
The West Indies failing to qualify for the 2023 ODI World Cup later this year in India, is just the harsh reality check they should’ve known was coming. Losses to Scotland, Zimbabwe and the Netherlands put to bed their chances of qualifying and the former world champions of 1975 and 79 will have to lick their wounds and reflect on what has gone wrong.
Newly Appointed captain Shai Hope said, the teams’ preparation “needs to be better”.
Former West Indian player Ian Bishop called it a “paradigm shift” in their One Day International cricket.
“A reminder that they will be thinking that this is only the first step in a long journey ahead of gaining relevancy and improving the standard they expect and what fans expect going forward,” he said.
(Photo by Alex Davidson-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
So where did it go wrong?
Indeed, Cricket is a tough game both physically and mentally, but the Windies certainly over the past decade haven’t controlled the controllables. This includes leadership and team standards required to play professional cricket before the team goes on the cricket field.
The lack of leadership was evident when the team failed to qualify for the Super 12 group of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. The team was kicked out early in the tournament after pedestrian middle-order collapses against Scotland and Ireland, with poor shot selections by senior players.
At the beginning of the West Indies campaign to battle it out and attempt to defend their 2016 T20 title, they acted like it was just going to happen for them. Even in the practice match against Pakistan the fielding was atrocious by senior players, from dropping simple catches to using their feet to stop the ball.
While many of the players were seen laughing about their mistakes embarrassingly, but unfortunately for the West Indies, their form followed them for the whole tournament. The void of leadership was obvious in their embarrassing total of 55 against England.
The West Indies stunk, rife with poor standards just before last year’s World Cup when key middle-order batsman Shimron Hetmyer was axed from the World Cup squad. This was after the 26-year-old missed two planes to get to Australia, leaving the Windies no choice.
Many would recognise Sunil Narine to be one of the most damaging spin bowlers in white ball cricket. His reputation precedes him, with 454 T20 matches a bowling average of 21.5 and an economy rate of 6.05. But not meeting the minimum fitness standards was one of the reasons why he hasn’t played for the West Indies since 2019.
(Photo by Mark Brake – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
During Kieron Pollard’s tenure as captain he mentioned fitness was a team issue for the “last couple years”.
“Fitness has been one issue that has affected us in terms of trying to put our best team and sometimes, it’s frustrating because you don’t have the guys fit and available to represent the team,” he said.
Of course, It’s up to the players if they want to uphold the team standards, but the problem is, do all of the players have the passion for playing international cricket anymore?
The truckload of new T20 franchise leagues around the globe has splashed cash to the high-calibre players in an effort to poach players out of international cricket.
As West Indies coach Darren Sammy said in 2022: ”An India A listed contracted player could probably make a million dollars a year (match fees plus TV rights money? Compared to a Windies A-lister, who would earn USD 150,000.”
“Gone are those days when you played for love. Love doesn’t buy you groceries from supermarket,”
Indeed, the lack of money given to the Windies’ players to play international cricket is undoubtedly a domino effect for all these poor outcomes.
And it’s fair to say the ICC would certainly have some blood on their hands, with a lack of resources given to struggling nations juxtaposed to the big three who continue to get wealthier.
It’s a much needed wake-up call for the Windies who look headed for a thorough rebuild, in finding the next crop of superstars to take on the big three. I think we can all agree world cricket is a better place when The West Indies are competitive.
Can the Windies find their swagger back?
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