Quote:Robert Craddock looks at the reasons behind the demise of West Indies cricket
DECEMBER 12, 201511:09AM
BASKETBALL gets blamed for a lot in the West Indies these days. Too much actually.
As the West Indies threatened to go the same was as the Tasmanian tiger in Hobart on Friday, sad comparisons continued between their woeful present form and their glorious past.
It is often said the popularity of American basketball has choked the life out of Windies cricket by stealing the big fast bowlers and the hearts and minds of youngsters.
But that is only part of the story. There are many layers to this crisis including ...
THE COUNTY CURSE
A vibrant common thread in the careers of Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall and so many others was they played English county cricket.
It taught them so much, from subtle bowling skills to how to adapt to different wickets from the high bounce of The Oval to turning decks at Northants.
These days English counties think twice about signing West Indians because they have a reputation for being lazy. The Windies miss this tuition dearly.
THE MISSING ACADEMY
WHILE Australia’s high performance centre in Brisbane chugs along at great pace the West Indian equivalent in Barbados has been crippled by lack of funds.
“In the recent past we’ve had the high-performance centre but unfortunately we haven’t had a group in there for the last year and a half to two years,†West Indian captain Jason Holder said.
That hurts.
THE INFRASTRUCTURE
Bowlers can develop naturally but batsmen need nets, bowling machines, decent wickets, net bowlers.
One Australian coach arrived in the West Indies to find a set of plastic stumps and a few old balls were all they had in stock in the West Indies camp.
That is starting from a long way back. Some players were so immature they could not properly read or understand their contracts.
THE PAY
WHEN the Twenty20 phenomenon swept world cricket some outfits like the West Indies got left behind.
Australia held its own because its top players were paid around $2 million a year.
Some West Indies players have the choice between earning $150,000 to play for their often-flogged national team or $1 million for an Indian Premier League team. The West Indian domestic season overlaps the IPL so the players cannot have both.
THE PACKER POLISH
One of the reasons the West Indies roared to the top of the world in the 1970s was a unique set of circumstances when the top players joined the Kerry Packer circus.
Fitness expert Dennis Waight trained them like they had never been trained before and made such an impact that Holding dedicated a full chapter to Waight in his book.
As the West Indies slipped into decline, the inter-island fracturing started with players often seen at dinner in their island groups such as Jamaica or Trinidad.
BOARD WITLESS
It used to be said that cricket is the instrument to unite the West Indies but it can also be ruthlessly divisive.
The players have had an uneasy relationship with the board since 2005 and the board members often fight among themselves.
The players also don’t trust their own players association.
The whole thing is just a big mess.
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