Disappearance Of West Indian Cricket

Once a feared name in the world of cricket,the name of West Indies, today seems to have disappeared from the face of world cricket. The name whose synonyms used to be awe and respect, does nothing today to intimidate its opponents.

Winner of two World Cups (1975 and 1979),the last time that the West Indian team won any major ICC event was the Champions Trophy in 2004.

After boasting of players like Sir Viv Richards, Sir Garfield Sobers, Clive Lloyd, Brian Lara, and Courtney Walsh, the present West Indian team is really in a bad shape

I remember my father telling me that when the West Indian bowlers used to bowl, the opposition batsmen literally used to shake in their knees..

But it's not that they don't have talent any more; they do, Shiv Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle are known to the world.

But somehow in spite of these players, the performance of the West Indian has been deteriorating and has been one of lacklustre.

The example of their poor performance can be the recent (2008) one day and test series against Australia in which they were literally hammered.

Even in the World Cups, they fail to qualify beyond the first couple of rounds.

And the reason cannot be definitely financial or lack of crowd support. The West Indian fans are among the exuberant and enthusiastic ones.

Then, what is the problem? Have the other teams grown up from being minnows in front of the West Indies team or has the West Indian team somehow managed to convert themselves into midgets? Are they themselves to blame?

Every team does have its share of ups and downs. Everyone has to undergo it. But it is high time that the West Indian team bounces back.

It's like a dragon which has gone hibernating, but something, somehow is preventing it from recovering from its slumber.

So what is the remedy? What needs to be done to bring back the West Indian team to its original position or rather, if I may say so, who can bring back the team to its original position?