Will WI cricket rise from the dead?

THE EDITOR: The West Indies cricket team of old used to be very difficult to beat. Its decline began when all the great cricketers retired in quick succession, leaving Richie Richardson to lead a talented but young and inexperienced team.

Even though the players performed admirably, the decline began slowly and the fans began to sadly realise that all good things must one day come to an end. However, the introduction of T20 cricket gave some hope and an opportunity for the players to make some money with the introduction of the IPL.

The amount of money being earned in various leagues made some players believe they were being short-changed by the Cricket West Indies. This created conflict between the players and the CWI.

The West Indies team used to be literally invincible, dispatching opposition teams with ease. It possessed destructive batting and bowling line-ups that other teams feared. That fear factor no longer exists as nowadays the WI is beaten by teams like Bangladesh.

The WI dominated all formats of the game between 1976 and 1995, but now the table has been turned. There is no firepower in the bowling attack and no consistency in the batting.

West Indies cricket went from bad to worse as big-name players such as Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Shivnarine Chanderpaul experienced issues with the CWI concerning sponsorships and contractual arrangements. Pay disputes unfortunately continue to be an issue, putting the future of WI cricket in danger. Some people even say it is dying a slow and painful death.

Still, we wait and hope that miraculously West Indies cricket rises from the dead and takes its rightful place at the top with the best teams in the world.

SIMON WRIGHT, Chaguanas