End of an era in West Indies Cricket
Hello, fellow Sports Enthusiasts,
What comes to your mind when you hear about West Indies Cricket? Despite the recent downfall, they were giants of the game for the most part. From around 1970s, these guys owned the game and dominated the field, generating many legendary players. Not only that, but even in the recent past, these guys were entertainers and were loved by millions of fans around the world.
Anyway, just like Sri Lankan Cricket, the West Indies are also going through a very rough patch, still thinking about happy old memories.
Before the 1970s West Indies team was building, and some iconic players came in handy. Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Clyde Walcott, Sir Everton Weekes, etc, showed a bright future for this team. But from the 1970s to the early 1990s, they turned out to be the real gangsters. They won the first two editions of the ODI Cricket World Cups in 1975 and 1979, and for more than a decade, they were simply unbeatable, especially in Test cricket.
They had a deadly fast bowling attack and a fearless batting unit. Other teams hardly messed with this legendary side. I think all of you know about some famous names: Sir Viv Richards, Sir Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Desmond Haynes, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh.
Anyway, from the early 2000s, classy players like Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and also Chris Gayle, who popularized himself more as a power hitter, emerged, but we saw a slight decline in them as a team.
With the arrival of T20I Cricket and the franchise leagues, West Indies players became specialized in that area. They were hard hitters, and they became a vital part of the leagues around the world. But at the start, they were good in international Cricket in the shorter format as well. Especially under Darren Sammy, they lifted the 2012 & 2016 T20 World Cups.
Anyway, with time, the prosperous era of International Cricket in the West Indies has been going down in all three formats. There are many reasons behind this, the player-board conflicts, and the management issues of the Cricket board became big news in the last decade. And with time, players often prioritized the leagues over national duty.
I just thought of writing this article, especially with the international retirement of many West Indies players in the last few years. The legendary T20I giants who once owned the game have left the party.
Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russel, Lendl Simmons, Sunil Narine, Marlon Samuels, etc are some big names that recently retired. Most of these were genuine all-rounders. Those guys were not just respected in franchise leagues, but made the country proud in T20I Cricket, even though the longer format was declining.
Their recent home series against Australia was a disaster, losing the Test series 3-0 and the T20I series 5-0. They ranked at 10 in ODIs, 8 in Tests, and 6th in T20Is right now.
It feels like the end of an era in West Indies Cricket. Once who dominated the field and owned the game are in a rough patch.
Anyhow, I hope things will be changed and they will regain the early pride.
Thank you.
Best Regards!
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