Why west indies cricket declined

Even though there were batting legends like Lara, Shiv Chanderpaul and bowlers like Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, the team had to depend on these players every time. This resulted in added pressure on these players every time they took the field. Even though there were individually brilliant performances from players like Lara and Walsh, the players could never contribute as a team and this led to series defeats, a majority of them coming away. The lack of motivation, no permanent contracts with the cricket board, lack of self-belief were all primary causes for the decline.

Even though the team lost a few series and was lurking at the bottom of the rankings chart, they managed to win at home, and also managed to win a few memorable matches, like the quarterfinal against South Africa and the famous test match against Australia.

Once the remaining legends like Lara, Walsh and Ambrose retired at around the same time, the team witnessed another sharp decline, so much so that they were ranked second-last in both Test Matches and ODIs among Test Playing Nations in The frequent altercation between the player associations and the players themselves did not help their cause.

As a result, the focus was never totally on the game, this coupled with a lack of confidence led them to dish out mediocre performances.

The decline was so steep that they could not even qualify for the Champions Trophy. There is no doubt that there are a few very talented players in the set-up but with no permanent contracts and indifferences with the cricket board, most of these players do not consider playing for West Indies as their primary goal, instead preferring to direct their energies at the highly lucrative T20 leagues around the world.

Yes, the West Indies are a champion team in T20's but with the absence of highly talented players in the Test and ODI teams, and with no high-skilled player to boast of, the team is still not able to replicate their T20 performances in ODI's and Tests. Of course with everything in cricket, there are positives to look forward too. With a cool head and good leadership skills, he can be the man to propel this team to reach great heights.

However, cricket is never an individual game. They used to play cricket with flair and ferocity, trouncing opponents, toppling records and mesmerizing the spectators. They were loved, cheered and admired by all cutting across the nationalities for their excellence.

Playing dominating cricket was perhaps an expression of their solidarity with the apartheid victim of black South Africans, an outlet of years and years of frustration caused by colonialism and best of all, a celebration of their imposing identity beyond the paddy fields and the sugar plantations in their islands.

Their fire manifested in their fast bowling. They had an iconoclastic attitude to the game. When every team was going with the mix of pace and spin attack, West Indies reinforced its rock-hard attack based on the ferocious pace quartets: Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Andy Roberts. Later on Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh had joined the party.

If they ever played any spinner, he was to be a batting all rounder like Gus Logie or Carl Hooper. They won games all over the world, even in the dead spin tracks of subcontinents, with their infallible skill of fast bowling. Their batsmen who hardly played in a copybook style were audacious and adventurous. Their swashbuckling approach to batting would dull any kind of attack.

Even the great Australian side led by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting from could not maintain an unbeaten record like the West Indies did until India in and England in Ashes in had interrupted Aussies winning spree.

They were buoyant a side in control of all aspects of the game. But that was then; West Indies Cricket is in shambles now — going bad to worse, for all too long and all too rapidly.

Their Test ranking of eight among ten test-playing nations and a lowly ninth rank in One-Dayers tell the sorry state of Caribbean cricket. Their home Test defeat at the hands of Australia in was the starting of their decline and this decline over the last two decades has been consistent.

Their debacle in , however, was not sudden. During two-three years preceding , they were not winning comprehensively like they always did with their domineering style of cricket playing, a Caribbean trademark. They were managing to win but only after letting the matches going down the wires. It was heartbreaking to see one time great West Indies losing so appallingly.

It was Test number 29 for them, away from home, all without a win. Older players retired but the replacements were just as effective, brilliant or dynamic and the reign at the top continued. The previous occasion that the West Indies lost a series was in March when they had gone down narrowly in New Zealand. Since then they had won 20 and drawn nine including two one-off Tests.

To see the West Indies being roundly thrashed repeatedly these days is a pitiable sight particularly to those who remember the all conquering team that pervaded the cricketing world for a decade and a half. What a marvelous sight they presented for the spectators and the TV audience — if not the opponents! Behind the stumps were brilliant wicket keepers like Deryck Murray and Jeff Dujon. Match after match, series after series, year after year, the West Indies simply mowed down all opposition and things were becoming predictable, even monotonous.

In the process, they regained the world cup and reached the final of the world cup too, where they suffered a shock defeat to India which they took revenge for by soundly beating India in India. The peak of this team perhaps came in England in , when they won a 5 test series This was followed by a drubbing of the same opposition at home. Lloyd retired in , Richards succeeded him and the team continued in its winning ways.

Garner and Holding retired in 87, but able replacements were found in Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Ian Bishop and in the batting department, Richie Richardson cemented his place in the side.

It is the batting where signs of decline started to show first. While Richards, Haynes, Richardson and Greenidge still held fort, the next in line coming in were not of the same class, except notably for Brian Lara. The bowling being as it good as it was allowed the team to continue doing well in tests but in ODIs they started losing regularly, in fact, failing to make the semis of the World cup. Then in the early s, Richards, Greenidge and Haynes retired. The team was now led by Richardson and kept the winning run going but only just.

They had close series against Australia in Australia winning , winning at home against SA and drawing away to India. They also failed to qualify for the world cup semi finals again. The other teams no longer felt intimidated by the West Indies team they now came across sans the greats of the 80s and thus ran them close. One felt it was only a matter of time before one of the sides would finally win a series against them, and, it did happen. West Indies lost the series against Australia at home in , thus handing over the unofficial crown of best test team to them.

They also lost in the semis of the world cup, leading to the retirement of Richardson. The mantle now rested mostly with Walsh and Lara whose performances still gave the Windies something to cheer for.

Once great players retire, all nations go through a rebuilding phase. Some teams come back and climb the mountain again while others are unable to.

West Indies beat the 8 test playing nations of the time comprehensively as detailed earlier in the 70s, 80s and 90s. However between — against these same 8 nations, they have lost 78 games and won only