Rally round the West Indies

Bengaluru: “We wanted to be able to show Englishmen, ‘you brought the game to us, and now we’re better than you,’” says Michael Holding in the highly-acclaimed 2010 documentary Fire in Babylon -- a powerful ode to the West Indies cricket team that dominated the game in the 70s and 80s like few in its history. As the title of the documentary suggests, the Caribbean cricketers of that era and before them were driven by fire in their belly; having been subjected to colonial rule and racial oppression for hundreds of years, cricket became a vehicle of the Caribbean pride and protest as they made former colonial masters “grovel” (the infamous remark by English captain Tony Greig ahead of the 1976 Test series, when he declared his team would make the West Indians grovel with a heavy political undertone) in their own grounds and game.

Calypso Cricketers, like everything with West Indies, has a nice rhythm to it. But this phrase was coined to, in a way, demean the West Indies players --  players who were entertaining, flamboyant, fun to watch, but not to be taken seriously. The Ws (Worrel, Walcott and Weekes), the Learie Constantine and the peerless Sir Garry Sobers, among other greats from 50s to 60s, had displayed enough individual brilliance to command respect but lack of consistent results drew English players to pass condescending remarks. The 70s and 80s, however, changed that perspective. Players like Michael Holding, Viv Richards, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall didn’t just want to win; they wanted to destroy. And they did so with utter dominance. England were only the first casualty. Australia, India, Pakistan and New Zealand... all fell before the Caribbean storm. For nearly two decades, the West Indies were the undisputed kings of world cricket.

Their free-flowing game, their swagger and the fear they induced endeared them to the entire cricketing world. It emerged as the second most favourite team for fans across the world after their own national teams. Everyone wanted them to win, and they did so more often. Cricket fans still want them to do well, but, invariably, they don’t (or they just can’t). There are still entertainers left in the West Indies they seem to be happy being just the Calypso Cricketers.

The last two decades or so have seen a steady decline of West Indies cricket that shows no signs of recovery. There have been a few bright moments, like an odd Test win here and there; two T20 World Cup triumphs (2012 and 2016) and a Champions Trophy win (2004) but each time they raise hopes of revival, it has turned out to be a false dawn. Today’s cricketers have certainly inherited the flair for the game, but not the fire that drove them to the top; they are proud of their cricketing pedigree but not passionate enough to sustain those high standards. If each of their wins was celebrated as their own by the rest of the cricketing world, the regular losses are marked by a collective lament now.

On July 14 at Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies hit a new low when they were shot out for 27 in 14.2 overs by Australia in the third Test to sweep the series 3-0. This was the second lowest innings total ever behind New Zewland’s 26 all out -- a dubious record that was under genuine threat of being broken or equalled. This was a new depth by their own low standards in recent times and rang alarm bells in West Indies cricket’s establishment. The Cricket West Indies (CWI) called for an emergency meeting of the Cricket Strategy and Officiating Committee with a few legends -- including Clive Lloyd, Viv Richards and Brian Lara -- to review the performances and find a way forward.

Clive Lloyd. DH Archives

What also largely went unnoticed was their 5-0 loss in the subsequent T20Is, a format they were expected to fare better. Come to think of it, WI’s performance in ICC white-ball tournaments in the last few years have left a lot to be desired. They failed to progress beyond the group stage in the 2021 T20 WC in Australia and played the next edition in 2024 only because they were co-hosts of the event. In between, they failed to qualify for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India and later the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan-UAE. 

The likes of Curtly Ambrose carried forward the West Indies’ rich legacy of fast bowling. DH Archives 

There are obvious reasons for this free fall with the CWI being the one of the main culprits. While there are multiple challenges in the form of youngsters being drawn towards other sports like football and basketball that are financially more rewarding, CWI -- going by the instances of player rebellions -- hasn’t taken enough care of top players, let alone those below their rung. The franchise leagues across the world do pose a big challenge, but there appears to be no tangible effort to compel players to remain committed to West Indies cricket.

In a bid to restore its past glory, the CWI has come up with an elaborate project that is fancifully referred to as The Long Run: CWI’S 2024-2027 Strategic Plan For Elevating West Indies Cricket. Among several objectives that the board aims to achieve in the next two years or so is making sure “players are proud to represent the West Indies.” That’s an interesting objective to have, and while no one is suggesting they lack the pride wearing WI colours or don’t feel the same emotions when “Rally round the West Indies” blares through the loudspeaker, they no longer seem to feel the hurt after defeats.

Cricketers in the Caribbean may not be rewarded as much as those in India, Australia or England but they are definitely compensated better than Afghanistan players who don’t even have their own infrastructure to train. Cricket may be their escape route from the harsh realities of lives at home, but you still need that hunger to succeed. The concept of West Indies, a team of players from different island nations, may not have outlived its utility yet but it needs a new purpose, direction and an honest introspection from all the game’s stakeholders in the Caribbean and sincere efforts to put the game back on track. The Caribbean needs cricket and cricket needs West Indies for it to be more competitive, vibrant and appealing to a larger audience. While they are at it, a bit of handholding by the ICC and the BCCI won’t hurt cricket’s cause.