Dwarfed by greats
in the Caribbean over the past two decades.
Once there was Viv Richards, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding and Brian Lara. Now there is Jason Holder, 25, an admirable young captain but who still only averages 30 in Tests; Kieran Powell, an opener averaging 27.40; and Raymon Reifer, who at 26 is a promising but still uncapped all-rounder. The touring squad could
and should be much stronger, but the likes of Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo and Darren Sammy are among a clutch of top players who have fallen out with the West Indies Board in recent years.
An amnesty was recently declared, meaning some – including Gayle – could return for the one-day series at the fag end of the summer.
Yet this three-Test series, shoehorned in to the schedule – when cricket has now lost the spotlight to football – remains distinctly underwhelming.
It was not always this way. The West Indies created one of the most celebrated dynasties in their heyday, winning five successive series in England between 1973 and 1988, unbeaten across 23 Tests.
Their record since the turn of the century, in contrast, has been pitiful, with defeats in five successive series and one solitary Test win, at Edgbaston in 2000.
Garner, the fast-bowling great who is now the team manager, talked a good game earlier this week. “Not many people are giving us a lot of hope,” he said. “But people are writing us off too early and it could be at their own peril.”
However, the raw statistics are brutal. The last time the Windies beat anyone other than Zimbabwe or Bangladesh in a Test series was a 2-0 home win against New Zealand in 2012. Overseas the record is even worse. Again, discounting Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, the last time they won a Test series away from home was way back in 1995, New Zealand again the opponents.
How did it get to this desperate state? Over the past few decades there has been a talent drain from the Caribbean due to the growing popularity of American sports and the growth of football’s Premier League in England.
But that does not account for the dramatic slump in the region’s cricketing fortunes alone. Mismanagement, both at board and grass-roots level, has undoubtedly harmed the sport in the Caribbean.
Then there is the growth of T20. West Indies are world champions in cricket’s shortest format, memorably beating England in the last World T20 final in Kolkata two years ago.
Cricketers are still being produced in the Caribbean but, like elsewhere in the world, many are now turning exclusively to the T20 format. It is telling that this series is taking place at the same time as the latest edition of the Caribbean Premier League – yet another reason why West Indian Test cricket is in such a parlous state.
It will be difficult not to pine for the legends of their game over the coming days. We can only hope that they can inspire this current crop.