After the glory days of the 1980’s, the West Indies performance in recentyears remains a cause for concern in world cricket

Sean Beynon31-Dec-2001After the glory days of the 1980’s, the West Indies performance in recentyears remains a cause for concern in world cricket. With world attentionfocussed on the politics of, and wrangles within, the game, the casualcricket fan could be forgiven for not noticing West Indies’ gradual decline.This was a year when the team bade farewell to old faces and were left tosearch desperately for new; where tentative hope ultimately ended in bitterdisappointment.Courtney Walsh and Brian Lara stole the individual honours. Despitecricket’s grounding as a team game, its obsession with statistics shows thepower and importance of the individual. Walsh, at his cunning best, managedto pick up his 500th Test wicket in Trinidad. Jacques Kallis was his unluckyvictim (a woeful leg before decision) as the great man took such an immenseachievement in his stride.Lara, who had threatened without fully delivering against Australia andSouth Africa, came alive in Sri Lanka. He hit three centuries, one of them adouble, but could not prevent West Indies crashing to an ignominious 3-0defeat. A collision with Marvyn Attapattu broke Lara’s elbow, putting himout of the game for at least six weeks.So much has changed in West Indies cricket since last year’s ill-fated tourto Australia. At the turn of the year, West Indies braced themselves foranother pummelling at the hands of a rampant Australia, looking to extendtheir Test record for consecutive wins.The New Year Test at Sydney saw West Indies fight hard. Wavell Hinds showeda willingness to attack the quicks, and Ramnaresh Sarwan came back to formwith a half-century. Despite this, West Indies were well beaten, withAustralia reaching a victory target of 173 comfortably despite early alarms.A lacklustre one-day series, where West Indies edged out Zimbabwe to makethe final, was brightened by Brian Lara. He may not have deserved hisman-of-the-series award, but did bat beautifully. His best knock, 116 in alosing cause, was brilliant. Carving the Australia attack to all parts,several times launching McGrath over cover, West Indies were denied thechance of an unlikely victory by rain. The final outcome saw Australianeeding only two finals to comprehensively take the Carlton Series.Such a woeful performance demanded swift action. The powers-that-be in WestIndies cricket did not shy away from controversy. Sherwin Campbell was leftout of the side to face South Africa, and Jimmy Adams was ousted from boththe captaincy and team.It was Carl Hooper who was chosen to succeed Adams. Hooper, who had enjoyeda two-year sabbatical from the national game, was not a popular choice. SirGary Sobers slammed the decision, which was altogether too much forcommentator Michael Holding. The former Test great refused to commentate onthe West Indies series with South Africa, dismissing the selectors as “a setof jokers.”Still, Hooper had been on top of his game in the Busta Cup, leading aconfident young Guyanan side. Certainly the West Indies performed betteragainst South Africa. Though the home side lost the series, they were atleast able to compete. Unfortunately, this was a fairly turgid series,played on lifeless pitches. No batsman on either side managed a strike-rateof 50 runs per 100 balls, and all too often one side or other relied ondefensive tactics.Despite this, the matches were closely fought, with the game going down tothe wire on several occasions. South Africa went one-up at Trinidad, a Testwhich will forever be remembered by Courtney Walsh, and could have pushedtheir advantage further in Barbados. Indeed, after collapsing to 82-7, itwas only Dinanath Ramnarine and Merv Dillon’s desperate time-wasting whichsaved the match.At Jamaica, where Courtney Walsh bowed out of the game, West Indies produceda fine performance. Led by Dillon and Walsh, the bowlers struck back afteranother batting failure. Ridley Jacobs – who had made his first century inTests earlier in the series – weighed in with 85 in the second innings tothe delight of a rapturous crowd. Walsh picked up three wickets in his lasthoorah, a just send-off for a true master.After a routine thrashing by the Proteas in the ODI’s, West Indies set offfor Southern Africa. They emerged as surprise winners of the Coca-Cola Cup.Despite losing twice to India in the group stage, West Indies’ victoriesover Zimbabwe ensured a passage to the final. They managed to reverse theirfortunes against India at the perfect time. A solid team performance tookWest Indies to 290-6 from their allocation, and Corey Collymore picked upfour wickets to stop an Indian charge.A pace attack of Reon King, the recalled Pedro Collins and Colin Stuart area long way from the great West Indian pacemen. They were too good forZimbabwe though, as West Indies cruised to a first Test victory.Though the second match was drawn, there was hope for the West Indies.Darren Ganga, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan were in the runs. Along withMarlon Samuels, who was a steady rather than spectacular performer on tour,the West Indies have a number of talented young players who must be helpedto achieve. Hooper’s quick-fire 149 at Bulawayo was a trip back in time.West Indies left Zimbabwe happy, and were further buoyed by a predictableODI clean sweep in Kenya.On then to Asia, where Sri Lanka promised to give Hooper’s men a muchtougher time. Brian Lara was back after an injury worry, having discussedhis batting with Gary Sobers. Criminally, West Indies fans were not able towatch the series, and Lara’s magnificent return to form, because of disputesover TV rights. Constantly we are told that the Caribbean is becoming moreinfluenced by American sports. One has to ask how the next Ambrose or Walshwill chose cricket over basketball if they don’t have the chance to watchthe former and are saturated by the latter.Apart from Lara’s brilliance, this was a series perhaps best left unseenfrom a WIndies point of view. Murali was irresistible, picking up 11 wicketsat Galle, and ten at Kandy. Whilst Lara was prepared to attack, the otherbatsmen pushed and prodded, a recipe for disaster against the best spinnerin the world. Lara’s run of scores – 178, 40, 74, 45, 221, 130 – could dolittle so long as the lower middle order batted so feebly. Sri Lanka tookthe series 3-0, also winning the triangular tournament with relative ease,and West Indies were left with much thinking to do.The talent in the West Indies batting is enormous, a simple fact which cannot be questioned. The bowling gives more cause for concern. For severalyears Merv Dillon and Reon King (amongst others) have been able to hidebehind Walsh and Ambrose. No more. Now they must make their own way in thegame.West Indies must move quickly to arrest their decline. It truly is importantfor world cricket that West Indies are strong. They are 6th in the ICC TestChampionship table, and desperately need a series win when India tour.Before that, they will travel to Pakistan. Pakistan have not fared well athome recently, and West Indies will look to reverse the 3-0 defeat imposedon them last time they visited.