Where do West Indies go from here?
Where do West Indies go from here?
International sports may have witnessed teams suffering incredible highs and terrible lows, but the story that has been of West Indies would be among the most intriguing. From raiding the best of opponents in cricket to touching lowest of lows that cannot even be fathomed (think of the latest Chris Gayle episode), Caribbean cricket has come down crashing. Worse, no one in the world has bothered to even lend them helping hand. Amid all the drama that has been taking place, it was a massive relief for those who care about the West Indies cricket that their series in Australia was over. COMPLETE COVERAGE: Chris Gayle sexist remark to Australian journalist controversy
The fact that a few of the Caribbean players will now be returning home is, once again, heartening news. After all, the Australian sojourn was turning nothing but a nightmare. In cricketing as well as non-cricketing terms, this tour of Australia would perhaps stand out among the worst they have had in their history.
Outplayed in all departments, West Indies made sure there were contributions to the entire package of humiliation from their end as well. Jerome Taylor’s callous act during a tour game was at least as embarrassing as the Chris Gayle incident, as the West Indies cricket remained — actually it still does — in the illusion that bringing a plethora of past time greats in their management set-up will revive their future. Australia vs West Indies 2015-16: Marks out of 10 for the visitors
And not by making their cricketers and cricket, perfect.
Greg Baum, in his column in the Sydney Morning Herald, spoke about the perils of leaving a lowly West Indies ‘out in the cold’, backing it up with the fact that Australia, after the conclusion of this series, will not be playing West Indies till mid 2019. ALSO READ — 2015 Yearender: West Indies continued to be a pale shadow of their glorious past
To disagree with the point being made, West Indies are luckier than say, far more talented and arising Bangladesh, because they get to play the top sides more frequently. To substantiate, Bangladesh have never toured India. Bangladesh and England last played a Test series way back in 2010. And, Bangladesh and Australia last played Test cricket close to 10 years ago in 2005-06.
On the contrary, West Indies abandoned a tour to India in 2014. They last toured England in 2012, hosted and defeated them in one of the Tests in 2015. West Indies played five Tests in all against Australia (two at home and three away), since June 2015.
If regularly playing India, Australia and England means development, West Indies would not have been reeling at the bottom of the pool.
It will be a poor excuse to state that West Indies are piteous because of lack of opportunities. That is not the case. They are pathetic because somewhere down the line, they do not care enough, or, worse, want enough.
While it is true that cricketing powerhouses have the moral responsibility of uplifting those who are devoid, it also depends on how badly West Indies want it to change. To begin with, it looks like an improbable task. When Clive Lloyd came in as chief selector, seniors like Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard were shown the door to make them work hard on their long-format skills and comeback. While it was a hard-nosed way of making things fall in place, Lloyd and company lost the plot completely. If a harsh decision was taken, it was the responsibility of the West Indies management to ensure these top cricketers do play Test cricket somewhere down the line. As things stand today, these top players are far off from being selected. There is no solution in the horizon yet. ALSO READ: How much is enough for West Indies?
And we have yet not touched upon the outrageous axing of the best batsman in Caribbean, Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Lloyd and his men must be knowing how to treat players of such stature. Sadly, for unknown and unexplained reasons they have not done that.
As West Indies kept getting pounded from all directions in Australia few of their big names in Gayle, Bravo and Pollard — each being a match-winner in individual capacity — kept playing inconsequential cricket in Big Bash League (BBL). It’s not that the tournament or Twenty20 cricket does not carry any value, but big and easy money, attraction to other sports, ludicrous thinking and selection policies have all combined to pull down Caribbean cricket — further downward from where it had fallen. West Indies needed these men more badly than anyone else to stand on its feet.
Another important, or probably the biggest reason is of ‘why’. Why do people in the Caribbean play cricket? For fun? Yes, cricket is fun. But there are other reasons why you play it. The men who dominated the last quarter of the last century had compelling reasons. They had a fight in their hands, and they showed they were made of substance. They showed they could match the best, and become the best. Like their 21st century counterparts, they and binged as well, but came out to the cricket field all guns blazing. If those men with reasons could do, why cannot these?
The tour of Australia is over with West Indies skidding deeper in trouble than before. But they are not the only ones troubled. South Africans have embarked on a ‘rebuilding’ journey once again. India, Australia and England might have slipped into categories of ‘poor travellers’, but they know how to win. Pakistan and Sri Lanka are doing their best as well. It is time West Indies get serious about their cricket, because only they can find solutions to their problems.
(Devarchit Varma is senior writer with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)