by D. Victor

Created on: December 12, 2008

Prior to 1995, the West Indies' cricket team had not lost a Test series (home or away) against all opposition for 15 years. Between 1995 and 2008, the West Indies has not won an away series, save against lowly Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. If this is not enough evidence of the West Indies' decline- the West Indies has tumbled from being the unofficial number one team in the cricket world to the nether regions of the official ICC Test and ODI table.

A former South African cricket and a West Indian commentator were discussing possible reasons for the West Indies' decline. The apartheid-conditioned, white South African suggested that the West Indies were the best side for 15 years because the other sides were poor. He suggested that when the other sides became good, the West Indies team performance declined. This intellectually-challenged perspective does not consider the reality of West Indian society.

The 1995 West Indies team that lost to Australia was far from the world-beaters who regularly trounced teams like Australia and England at home. Teams were literally terrified of playing the West Indies, who had a lethal bowling attack and world-class batsmen in their ranks. However, for more than a decade, the West Indies has struggled. Many reasons have been forwarded for this.

Poor player development

The players on the world-beating West Indies teams had the attitude and opportunities to hone their skills. They were involved in the English County championships and the Kerry Packer World Series. This afforded the legends of that team the opportunity to develop a professional attitude to the game. The modern West Indian player does not have much support or development facilities in the Caribbean after all these years.

Low quality and quantity of cricket matches

The West Indies' First-class season (the level below Test cricket in the region) is a joke. Teams are normally scheduled to play 5, 6 or 7 First-class games in one year. Also there's a one-day championship in which very few games are played. In other countries, teams play much more than 12 cricket games per season. Many West Indian players do not have the opportunity to play much cricket outside of international cricket, especially since the English Cricket Board limited overseas players in the English counties.

Poor attitudes

The current bunch of West Indies players fail to respect the West Indian legacy in cricket and appear to have a poor work ethic. Their approach to fitness is non-existent and their lack of application

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