Bitter slide of WI cricket

THE EDITOR: After the West Indies slumped inexorably to a shocking seven-wicket defeat by associate side Scotland on July 1 (first time the West Indies would not be appearing in an ODI World Cup tournament since 1975), I put my tears to paper:

Sir Frank, Sir Clive, what would you say?

The leaders of islands in the sun,

West Indies has sunk to the lowest depths today.

Sir Garry, Sir Wes, Rohan, Seymour, Sir Clyde, Sir Everton, the early trailblazers, is that our imagination?

For almost 20 years after you, we were conquerors of all nations,

Sir Viv, Sir Andy, Mikey, Malcolm, Alvin, Lawrence, Gordon, Dessie, Larry, Brian, Shiv, masters of the bat and ball,

The legacy has disappeared, the history, who cares, what a precipitous fall!

The immense pride and passion, where have they gone?

How do we reverse this steep decline, or do we simply sit and dream on?

West Indies fans are crying all over the world, as we continue to slide down an unending slope,

Where do we go from here, do we look for destiny and hope?

REZA ABASALI

El Socorro