The Strange case of the West Indies cricket
The 1980s was the decade of a cricket team that rarely lost. They had the bowlers who could single-handedly win matches, batsmen who could tear apart the best of attacks, fielders who never let the ball pass them and a captain who commanded respect not because he was appointed the captain, but because he deserved it. I am talking about the side that had Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes opening the batting, Viv Richards coming at number 3, Richie Richardson and Larry Gomes in the middle-order, followed by Clive Lloyd the captain, Jeff Dujon the wicket-keeper and Malcolm Marshall, Colin Croft, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Roger Harper, the lanky off-spinner.
That was the side that ruled Test cricket, and no other side has managed to match their feat. So where did the Calypso Kings go wrong? Why were they not able to continue the good work despite being talented? One of the reasons was the sudden departure of the greatest cricketers, together. Before the 1992 World Cup, West Indian administrators made Viv Richards, Jeff Dujon, and Gordon Greenidge retire, sending an inexperienced team to Australia, which failed to qualify for the semi finals for the second consecutive time. Although the side had class performers like Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Phil Simmons, Carl Hooper and above all, the gifted Brian Lara, the side faltered before continuing the good work of their predecessors.
It was in those days that Keith Arthurton and Jimmy Adams became the highest ranked Test batsmen, and Phil Simmons gave match-winning performances. Ian Bishop joined Ambrose-Walsh as the deadly troika while Carl Hooper proved effective with his off-spin, despite Geoff Boycott’s disapproval. But with all the players gone, the current West Indian side seems to have lost the plot altogether, gasping for wins, sometimes winning, sometimes losing.
The players under the explosive Chris Gayle have failed to gel as a unit, and their performance in the handful of performances after the Twenty20 World Cup is a proof of their decline. They might be match winners in their own rights but one-match winners isn’t enough to win matches all the time. If one bowler is capable of dismissing the openers in the first over, he must get support from the other end, or the side that was under pressure at the end of the first over will be able to make a comeback.
Any side in the world would love to have the all-rounders in the West Indian squad - Chris Gayle who bowls off-spin and then dispatches bowlers around the park, Kieron Pollard and Darren Sammy, who can take wickets as well as score runs, Dwayne Bravo who is effective as a bowler, batsman and fielder all the time and Wavell Hinds, who can turn his arm over and is a reputable batsman. So why have they not been able to combine their prowess and help the side? Because they all have not played much together, otherwise together they are a force to reckon with no doubt!
Add the spin of Sulieman Benn and Nikita Miller, as well as the batting genius of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan and the bowling attack off Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach and Jerome Taylor to support the all-rounder and you have a set of world-beaters that can only be defeated by fate. That is exactly what’s happening to them; otherwise they could have easily won the Twenty20 World Cup that was held in their backyard.
The West Indian players are also not well paid for their services, as they are always demanding the board to help them monetarily. If those issues are solved for good and the West Indian selectors recall Dwayne Smith, Fidel Edwards and Pedro Collins, they might help the Calypso Kings reignite the world!
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