The decline roughly started when the Australians beat West Indies in their den in 1995. Their last series win against a big team was achieved in 2009, when they beat England 1-0
New Delhi: After the disappointment in England, India will return to Test cricket as they host West Indies in a two-match series starting on October 4 in Rajkot. Unlike it would have been in the past, the contests have generated very little excitement among the fans. Reason – the decline of West Indies cricket in the longest version of the game.
Having consistently dominated at home, the Virat Kohli-led India are overwhelming favourites to claim the trophy. The hosts are ranked No 1 in the world while the Caribbeans are lowly eighth in the ICC Test table with only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe below them.
West Indies ruled cricket for a long time from 1970s. But, now they are struggling to put a good side on the field in the Test format. Back then, West Indies called the shots because they had high-quality players, who went on to become greats.
The likes of fearsome fast bowlers Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and others were a nightmare to batsmen.
The best opening pair in Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, and legends like Vivian Richards and Clive Lloyd in the team ensured that they won every Test series between 1980 and 1995.
The decline started when the Australians beat West Indies in their den in 1995. Their last series win against a big team was achieved in 2009, when they beat England 1-0.
The forgotten glory of West Indies cricket forces one to look back at the key matches from where it actually started to go wrong.
Australia annihilated West Indies 5-1 in a six-match series. Even though the Llyod’s outfit had the likes of Holding, Richards and Alvin Kallicharran, they were beaten by seven and above wickets in three matches and by over 160 runs in two other matches. The terror came in the form of pace duo Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson.
The 15-year winning streak of the Caribbeans was put to halt by none other than their old arch rivals, Australia. The match was to be a decider since the series was leveled at 1-1. Steve Waugh hit a double hundred and his twin brother Mark Waugh scored 126 which helped Australia attain a lead of 266 runs in the final Test of the series. Paul Reiffel and Shane Warne picked up four wickets each in the second innings, which helped the Aussies wrap up the West Indian batting line-up for 213. Australia won the match by an innings and 53 runs and clinched the series 2-1.
Interestingly, it was not the arch nemesis Aussies that marked the downward spiral of the Caribbeans, but Pakistan. The Asian side’s bowling attack which included Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Azhar Mahmood, Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq tore the West Indies batting line-up apart. Even though West Indies still had players like Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ian Bishop and Courtney Walsh, the decay had set in. West Indies went down 0-3 to Pakistan.
It was not just the dearth of talent but also constant tensions between the players and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) that contributed to the downfall, not only in Tests but also in ODIs. This reached its peak when Dwayne Bravo’s ODI team abandoned their tour of India mid-way through the five-match series which was due to a payment structure dispute after the 4th ODI against India in 2014. Players like Bravo, Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard have not played for the Caribbean side since WICB has set some stringent rules for getting selected for the national team. To be eligible for selection in the national team, the players have to play in the regional competitions. Games of IPL offer more money to the players causing players to deflect more towards these games as opposed to playing for the national team.
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