Hyderabad: Cricket fans will name India, England and Australia if asked about their favourites for the upcoming World Cup. However, the scenario would have been different five to six decades when everyone would have vouched for West Indies in case of being asked about their favourites. This is the story of two-time world champion and two-time T20 champion West Indies, who could not even qualify for the World Cup 2023. This is the worst phase of this team in 5 decades of ODI cricket.
Cricket and West Indies- The first Test on a cricket field was played in 1877. Cricket was born in England. Be it an ODI or Test match, the first match was played between England and Australia. But, West Indies showed the world that the game can be entertaining and exciting as well. In the early 1970s, West Indies brought every team in the world to its knees by displaying sheer domination on the field. Small islands situated between North and South America together form a country named West Indies and these islands provide exciting moments, world-class players and a champion team which made its mark at a global stage.
From pinnacle to rock bottom
West Indies' achievement in the 70's and 80's was impeccable and no team can match what they did during that era. In 1975, West Indies won all five of their games in the inaugural edition and beat Australia in the final to lift the silverware. The Caribbean team continued their legacy in the upcoming edition by winning two trophies in a row and establishing their stature as a dominating force in world cricket.
When ODI cricket commenced in the 70s, West Indies became a force to reckon with in quick time. India won the 1983 World Cup but even in that edition, runner-up West Indies were considered firm favourites. In fact, at that time, the status of the West Indies was such that India's victory was even considered a fluke. The reason for this was the West Indies team which was considered unbeatable in the 70s and 80s and statistics were also pointing in that direction. In the 1975 and 1979 World Cups, the West Indies team did not lose a single match, whereas in 1983 it lost only one to the Indian team. Although the team's dominance continued even after this World Cup, they never managed to get their hands on the trophy in the 50-over format again.
As the 90s approached, Caribbean players from the winning side kept retiring. Further, they never made it to the final of the 50-over World Cup again. Except for the semi-finals of 1996, this team has never been a part of the best four teams of the World Cup and now the situation has come to the worse as they failed to qualify for participation in the marquee event in 2023. Although the West Indies team won the T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016 and the Champions Trophy in 2004 they never managed to regain their old pride when they used to bulldoze oppositions.
Pace Battery of West Indies
In today's era, when it comes to pace bowling or speed, the names of bowlers like Brett Lee, Shoaib Akhtar, Shaun Tait, Shane Bond, and Dale Steyn come to the mind of the fans. These bowlers, who bowled balls faster than 150 kilometers per hour, were a part of different teams and were a name of fear for the opposition batsmen. But imagine, if there are 4 such bowlers in a team, what will be the fate of the opposing batsmen?
Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts and Joel Garner... today's generation is unaware of these names but the previous generations of cricketers and cricket fans are not unaware of them. This quartet hunted in packs and played a crucial role in helping the national side achieve a world-class stature. Be that as it may, these bowlers were another name for terror for the batsmen of that era. This was the era of cricket when only the batsman could feel the speed of the bowler. Unlike today, there were neither speedometers nor helmets or other equipment for batsmen to measure the speed of the ball, nor were there any restrictions on bowling bouncers for bowlers. -It was a joke. West Indies bowlers used to test every part of the batsmen from chin to elbow, finger, heel to ribs.
The high speed balls of West Indies bowlers have given such wounds to batsmen all over the world which remain with them forever. It was common for batsmen to get injured in front of these bowlers. The fear of West Indies bowlers is still a part of the autobiographies and cricket stories of many batsmen. The tradition of this quartet was later carried forward by bowlers like Courtney Walsh and Courtney Ambrose. But by the end of the 90s, the team started lagging behind on the express bowling front.
West Indies Batting
If you ask the names of West Indies batsmen today, many fans will think of them after Chris Gayle and Brian Lara, but there was a time when the batting lineup of West Indies used to destroy any bowling attack. Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Vivian Richards, Clive Lloyd, Gary Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Alvin Kallicharran
