WEST INDIES LACK FIRE AND FIGHT

It continues to perplex and infuriate fans of Test cricket why the West Indies have remained so bad for so long. It was way back in 1995 that the West Indies were officially dethroned as the world’s best Test team by Australia who took home the Sir Frank Worrell and they seem to have no intention of giving it back.

The sad thing is that we seem totally incapable of taking it so they might as well moth-ball that trophy because at the rate at which things are going, a hundred thousand years from now, archaeologists are going to dig it up from where ever it now sits in the land Down Under. Similarly, all the other trophies that we play for between the major Test playing nations are not going to be discovered here in the West Indies.

The thing that troubles me is why?

There have been numerous coaching changes, 13 captains, and different approaches to help the West Indies turn that enormously long corner they have been on for a few years now. However, as soon as the team looks like it is about to finally come out on the other side of that treacherous road of mediocrity it has been on for such a long time, it skids off into oblivion. The recent tour of India and the current New Zealand disaster, are the latest examples of the West Indies’ backward slide.

It is true that several key players are missing but that does not account for the lack of fight shown by this team currently trying to salvage the ongoing series in New Zealand. I am sure the team is missing the services of Chris Gayle, Kemar Roach, and Ravi Rampaul, but still that does not account for the quite ordinary performances we have seen from Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Kieran Powell and others. There seems to be a general lack of confidence among the batsmen.

Samuels, for example, has been a shadow of himself. To be fair, ever since he was hit in the eye by that Lasith Malinga bouncer almost a year ago in the Australian Big Bash league, Samuels has been off his game. Maybe it was the time away from the game during his recovery or insecurities about his technique caused by the injury, or a combination of both, but Samuels has rarely looked like the confident stroke-maker and match winning player he was after he returned to the game following his two-year ban.

The others really do not have an excuse though. Chanderpaul aside, the other batsmen have looked like schoolboys at the crease and in the field. Remember these are professionals, people paid to perform and over these past few months maybe only Chanderpaul, Shillingford, who is now banned, Narine and maybe Darren Bravo, have earned their pay.

A big part of why this modern-day version of the West Indies plays as it does, I believe, has to do with a disconnect as to why we play cricket in the West Indies. It was the intent to dominate our former colonial masters and the desire to prove to the world that we in the Caribbean could be more than just entertainers; that we could also be the best in the world, that drove the team to the highest heights. I don’t believe that philosophy has connected with these modern players.

In fact, when I had heard that many of them had only lately seen the documentary Fire in Babylon that chronicled the development of the West Indies team into the juggernaut it became between the late 1970s and mid-1990s, I was not surprised. I was more surprised when I heard some of the players express that they were not aware of what helped forge the great West Indies team, the team that did not lose a Test series from between 1980 and 1995; a team that won back-to-back World Cups in 1975 and 1979.

They claimed that the documentary inspired them but I daresay that inspiration has now waned. The message has not resonated with these players spoiled by fat contracts and rich T20 leagues around the world.

When you watch this current team play, you don’t see the fight, the moxie to take on and topple the best teams in the world. On occasion you will see the fight that sparks fleeting moments of pride across the region, but it is never consistent. As soon as it flashes it’s gone.

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8 Responses to “WEST INDIES LACK FIRE AND FIGHT”

Mike says:

December 23, 2013 at 11:42 am

Lots of reasons , and we will not go foreword until we play as one and our selection policies changes for example the Jamaican guy cotterill wet selected for the tour of India and New Zealand roach , best as the three fast bowlers now roach got injured an had to returns home now is replacement walk straight into the test team averaging over 150 per his wicket and mr cotterill is out that is the state of west indes cricket how can that player feels about his non inclusion
moses reid says:

December 26, 2013 at 9:35 am

Do we still play cricket?
Franklin Asphall says:

December 26, 2013 at 2:24 pm

The players need vocabulary training to keep their brain and mind on the Job for long periods. Look at the top teams performing you could see where they are really thinking about what they are doing for long periods. WI fall apart under pressure, our bats men don’t cover the line of the ball and the good players usually do that.The tall loose limb fast bowlers we use to provide are now much shorter men that don’t get the movements the taller men gets. The high performance clinic is just a joke. We have to look at the other countries and see type of people they use to carry out administrations.
Desmon Jangalee says:

December 27, 2013 at 6:28 pm

Iam suggesting,( we have tried everything, why not give this a try) select from a group of players three teams, test, ODI and T/20, find out from prospective recruitsthe game that they would prefer to play, make it be known that there will be no cross over unless the aptitude is seen for another format. We have heard it from Gayle and recently Dwayne Bravo mentioned that the players are morecomfortable with the ODI format.
Paris Taylor says:

December 28, 2013 at 11:11 am

When Fire was in Babylon no one questioned the competency of the West Indian cricketers and their capabilities. But because they have lingered in darkness so long one has to question if they will ever restore their pride and rightful position on the # 1 Test status. When the beacon burned on the hill it was an indication that the Fire in Babylon was not going to be our anytime soon. Now we are not certain as to what really has happened in Babylon.

When Michael Anthony Holding and Andy Roberts and Collin Croft, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall played together there was no asking who is the king of world cricket. We knew right away that the Calypso Cricketers were the main force in the world. There was no stopping of these cricketers because the only thing that could stop them was only temporarily was Kerry Packer and the South African move by money enticement. This move left a lot of persons wondering what could have motivated these stalwarts to take such an awkward stance.

We knew what these people were up to with the South African move but we could not understand why they did as they did? The fire power was always there in spite of the drawback by going to Kerry Packer and South Africa. They defeated the purpose of the struggles of the South Africans. No one want to have any association with gutless persons like Lawrence Yagga Rowe, Chang, Danny Germs who went to South Africa to be known as “Honourary Whites”. How could we ever respect these cricketers again?

Sylvester Stephens I think was one of those persons who went to South Africa. He was more than a handful as a fast bowler at the time and many young talents went who felt they were not able to make the big bucks. With the West Indian setup fixed for the highest caliber players being drafted into the system. They all felt they did not stand a chance and subsequently quenched the burning flames caused by the West Indians.
Franklin Asphall says:

January 5, 2014 at 11:31 am

West Indies team perform much better without all this technical staff.This is really evidence of throwing away money, throughout the test match and the ODI not one bright spot in the two teams. When we look at Australia how quick they can built a team, while every thing in WI team is like a club side on tour. Most of their problem is lack of ability to use former great players that will help the young to raise their game. I wonder what people like Lloyd and Richards is thinking,they were people that pride WI cricket.
Michael Edwards says:

January 9, 2014 at 7:57 pm

The state cricket is not as bad as we all think, it’s true we haven’t been winning, and we blame our players,when we should be blaming the selectors, they need to put the best product on the field, take for example the captain sammy, poor man cannot make the team as a batsman or a bowler, making the team weaker to begin with, we have no strike bowlers, tino best could not make any team in the world,ravi rampaul cannot stay injury free for any series, the selectors should be held accountable just as players lose their place in the team, selectors should lose their job, the batting is not the worst just a little inconsistent, the coach needs to be fired I remember reading an article not long ago where he said the senior players failed us, just recently on this tour he said the the back up players failed up, when will he get it right that he failed us as a coach.
Salt Bread says:

January 15, 2014 at 8:15 am

West Indies cricket will never be the same again as long as there are T20 leagues around the World.Players are more interested in making quick money for their franchises than they are for the WI.Alibabaa,this is the pundit,looks as though you won’t see me on the other website anymore,as my comments are being deleted all the time.Don’t see any from the demon anymore either.