West Indian Cricket's Chances of Survival

This week I focus on the state of West Indian cricket. Once the greatest team in the world, they've become soft and lacklustre.

The team used to be a force in both forms of cricket. With their mix of stylish batting and fiery fast bowlers, the West Indies struck fear in their opposition. Walsh and Ambrose were the deadly attack of the '90's and greats like Lara and Richardson have gone. So have Holding, Sobers, and Viv Richards.

Nowadays the West Indies have been on a poor run. They are languishing in eighth place in LG test rankings and this makes bad reading for all fans of West Indian cricket, considering all the money that Sir Allan Stanford has invested to improve the game, with his Stanford 20/20 and 20 for 20 set up with the ECB the English and Wales Cricket Board.

There have been many discussions about West Indian Cricket and its recent turmoil. Since the retirements of Ambrose and Walsh, the West Indies have not had a potent and truly threatening attack.

Tino Best came and went and Fidel Edwards is a good fast bowler but not consistent enough. He can go for runs especially in the one-day game. As for Jerome Taylor, he is so inconsistent it is almost unbelievable.

The team was compounded yesterday as they were thrashed by an impressive Australian outfit. West Indies were outclassed by wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi, David Hussey, and Andrew Symonds who smashed them into pieces, amassing 341-8.

West Indies could only muster 172 with the top order Gayle and Sarwan failing with the bat. And when they failed, the Aussies bounced and wrapped an easy 5-0 whitewashing.

I really hope that these players do take a long look at themselves. The West Indies have not won an ODI series in a year, and their fans are becoming impatient with the team's performance. They demand improvement as this cricket team has a rich tradition of producing talent.

Has the line stopped for the West Indies, or will it continue to produce young talent? This will be vital in order for West Indian Cricket to survive.

I have been gauging opinions of West Indian Cricket fans and found some very interesting and in-depth answers, like the view of Migell Douglas who, like most West Indian people, is passionate about the game and wants to see the Indies do well. He simply summed up West Indian Cricket in one quote: "They suck."