Will West Indies ever become as good as they were?

[Bahnz]

Australia had the better balanced attack with Warne, and McGrath/Gillespie/Warne plus Lee of the early 2000s is good enough. The West Indies would beat them in the Carribean but Australia would return the favour on their own turf.

As England have learnt from the latest series, Australia isn't a bad place to be in if you're a tall fast bowler. Don't think Warne would give Aus that much of an advantage.

Agree about Gilly, but his efforts against England in 2005 would suggest that he's a lot less dangerous when he's faced by quality pace and not coming in with the score already at 400/5.

 

[Maximas]

I feel the focus of WI cricket - similarly with SL is now t20 and ODIs, they seem to be prioritising these formats due to both the fact that they probably generate more income and they have a better chance of being good at them, which is to the detriment of their ability to compete at test level, especially away from home.

 

[Zinzan]

Short answer - No

That side of the 80s was freakish. So good, they probably would have beaten a ROTW side at the time.

 

[Slifer]

Simple answer to the question (and this coming from a West Indian) is no. Doubt we'll ever reach the lofty heights of the 70s/80s but we can be a top 5 side again. Right now WI are playing in NZ without their senior opener in Chris Gayle and main fast bowler Kemar Roach. Both players' presence imo would have had a major impact on the current series (see Gayle's previous series in NZ). Long term WI need to bring in an outside coach (and team) to shake things up. WAy too much inter-island politics hampering the team IMO. We need outside people with no political loyalties who are willing to get rid of the deadweights like the captain Sammy etc. Also our domestic tournies have never ever been the best in the world but what did use to happen, was that players with raw skills would be shipped off to England to play county cricket to fine tune their skills. That unfortunately doesn't happen much ne more.

So to summarise WI can be a top team again (unlikely 80s level) but certain things need to happen first. A. new outside coach/team given leeway to pick players with no political ties B. exposure of WI players to 1st class cricket in England (even Oz if possible). C. get rid of the dead weights like Sammy!!!

 

[OverratedSanity]

Well the Aussies did have a world class spinner and a keeper who scored 17 hundreds.

And anyway, it's never good to compare great teams man to man . Australia dominated world cricket for a solid decade and hardly lost any series. More than seeming unbeatable, it was a challenge for most teams to even draw games against them... They just kept winning ruthlessly. They were as good as the Windies, arguably better

@Topic
I don't think so. But you can never say no. Who knows, maybe in a few decades they'll get another crop of great fast bowlers all once and start dominating again.

 

[karan316]

Talent wise, WI don't lack a lot tbh. Its poor management thats hurting them.

 

[Shri]

WI have neither produced 40+ nor sub 30 averaging fast bowlers since the 90s. They just need to find one seriously good strike bowler who the others can bowl around and a couple of good batsmen who can average 40+ to get to the mid table in the rankings. Neither producing greats nor producing terrible cricketers. Don't think they can dominate like in the past any time soon but can be a good side in time

 

[Hurricane]

I think the Windies boys should really answer this question. I have heard that cricket simply doesn't pay enough at FC level in the West indies so the best athletes are trying their hands at other sports. Has cricket fallen in popularity in that part of the world?

 

[Garson007]

I think the Windies boys should really answer this question. I have heard that cricket simply doesn't pay enough at FC level in the West indies so the best athletes are trying their hands at other sports. Has cricket fallen in popularity in that part of the world?

Bolt was a cricketer who converted to athletics... That tells you all you need to know.

 

[ohnoitsyou]

Bolt was a cricketer who converted to athletics... That tells you all you need to know.

and apparently he preferred cricket to athletics as well. But i guess you just cant turn down those sport scholarships.

 

[marc71178]

It's going to be a long long time before they're competitive against the top sides IMO - no matter how often we get told the future is bright and this player will be the key or that player, the fact remains that in the last 10 years, they've won 6 Tests against proper sides out of over 80.

 

[Slifer]

WI have neither produced 40+ nor sub 30 averaging fast bowlers since the 90s. They just need to find one seriously good strike bowler who the others can bowl around and a couple of good batsmen who can average 40+ to get to the mid table in the rankings. Neither producing greats nor producing terrible cricketers. Don't think they can dominate like in the past any time soon but can be a good side in time

Time will tell but I think WI already have a decent strike bowler in the form of Kemar Roach, who coincidentally is injured right now. All the selectors need to do now is to stop persisting with dead-weights like TIno Best and Darren Sammy (give Gabriel a few more matches). Batting wise, D Bravo obviously has massive potential and hopefully Chris Gayle will b back soon. With Gayle and Chanders mentoring an up and coming lineup we might b able to get back to mid-table at the very least. D Powell I'd give a few more tests as an opener (ditto Edwards). Ramdin is a hell of a liability behind the stumps and y we're persisting with him I have no clue. He is neither a good enough batsman nor keeper to keep his place (much like Sammy). This is y we need an outside coach who should b given leeway to pick a WI squad on merit not on politics and certainly not on who the WICB can manipulate

 

[Flem274*]

Chanderpaul is 39 - his mentoring time has been the last 3 years. He's going to be gone within 18 months surely.

 

[Slifer]

Chanderpaul is 39 - his mentoring time has been the last 3 years. He's going to be gone within 18 months surely.

18 months still sufficient time to blood some new middle order batsmen and have them mentored by Chanders. By no means should ne new batsman emulate his technique but his patience and hunger for runs is undeniable.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Can't see it, they just don't seem to produce the players now.

 

[salman85]

I think the Windies boys should really answer this question. I have heard that cricket simply doesn't pay enough at FC level in the West indies so the best athletes are trying their hands at other sports. Has cricket fallen in popularity in that part of the world?

I remember watching this interview of a former WI cricketer.I don't remember who it was,but this was a time when Dillon was leading their attack.The guy was asked why Dillon, despite having the height and the physique, looks so docile compared to the great WI fast bowlers of the past.His answer was that kids in the WI don't enjoy cricket as much as they used to.The tall well built guys are more inclined towards sports like Basketball..

I don't know if stats back this theory, though it would be interesting to see how many basketball players from the WI have made it to the NBA during and after their Cricket peak.A higher number post 1980s/early 1990s would perhaps suggest that interest in Cricket has declined in the WI.

Also,is it just me or have crowds in WI stadiums become smaller over the years? This despite the fact that they have won the Champions Trophy and T20 world cup in the last one decade,which should have increased interest in the sport, but it doesnt seem that way.

 

[Goughy]

During the brief time I have been in Trinidad I think I have a little insight into the decline of WI cricket and how terminal it is.

First caveat - This is T&T related. I dont know if it is relevant to the other islands.

So many people mention that young people are being drawn to American sports. I always doubted that and I now certainly dont think it is the case. It isnt that people are playing American sports, it is that they are not playing any sports.

Look at Trinidad, their 3 greatest athletes in modern times were Lara, Ato Bolden and Dwight Yorke. All 90s legends and no one of a similar elite level has come through in the past 15-20 years. Why? Well I would guess that now Trinidad is an oil rich country with $20k US GDP per capita (much higher PPP - World Bank puts it above Spain and Portugal for example and the difference between T&T and UK is just the same as the difference between UK and Germany) and a huge increase in American cultural influence (though not sporting) - fast food chains, like many places, are on virtually every corner. The population is 1.2m but there are another 500 000 Trini born people in US. Trinis increasingly look to the US which has led to a decline in interest in the traditional sports but not a corresponding increase interest in US sports. They are not playing other sports. They are not playing sports - a gross oversimplification but I use it to make a point.

An increasingly wealthy country, increasingly sedentary lifestyle, high calorie diet, may actually make for a better standard of living but doesnt help develop hungry and determined athletes. The decline of WI cricket (based on the Trinidad model) may just be a part of becoming wealthier and having greater options in life.

 

[GGG]

As much as people hate IPL and the other 20/20 tournaments, I believe it is a great thing for WI and other less wealthy cricket boards like New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Would Usain Boult switch to athletics now that he could make plenty of money playing cricket? Maybe but at least now young athletes have that carrot that may influence them to stick to cricket or even switch from other sports.

 

[Jono]

Langeveldt needs to come here and ask "do we really need a good West Indies?".

 

[AldoRaine18]

No, and that is completely down to how unreal the team in 80s was. It's not to say WI cannot become a great team again who could be one of the best in the world but it's a massive, almost impossible task to be that great.