Ajayan

Saturday went down in history as the worst day for West Indies losing to minnows Scotland in the Super Six match of the World Cup Qualifier. With this, the World Cup 2023 door is closed for the once most revered team that was two times champion.

Since the 1960s, West Indies had been a most dreaded team to play against with its ferocious seamers and aggressive batters. It was a nightmare for teams to face the pace battery of the Caribbeans. After the likes of Wes Hall and Griffith, came a fearsome array of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft and Malcolm Marshall. There were the run machines like Sobers, Kallicharran, Lloyd, Richards, Haynes, Greenidge, Richardson and Lara, to name a few.

But it was against this bowling fire that came the masterstroke of Little Master Sunil Gavaskar. On his debut in 1971 in the second Test in Trinidad, he scored 65 and 67 not out and also hit the winning run for India. During the four Tests he played there then, he amassed 774 runs averaging 154.8 and had four centuries, including a double, to his credit. History is that the Jamaicans were at their wits end to find a way to handle Gavaskar. His attempt to hook short rising deliveries was a way out for them and in the fourth Test he fell to pacer Dowe with just one run to his credit. The hopes of a thrilled Windies team were shattered in the second innings where Sunny stayed at 117 not out.

India, underdogs in the 1983 World Cup, beat this formidable West Indies to be on top.

But that is all history. No longer is the West Indies feared and this was proved on Saturday too. The decline started a decade before this century when other cricketing nations evolved and began to become formidable opponents.

When the short format of T20s began, West Indies appeared to be again on the top with a number of big hitters. When T20 teams thought it wise to keep the number of dot balls minimal, West Indies went against this convention. With its long array of power hitters, sixes and boundaries overtook the measly gains of singles. Remember that way back before the 2016 T20 finals, which Windies won, its captain Daren Sammy was asked why his team did not rotate strike. His famous reply was, “The first thing is you have to stop us from hitting boundaries.”

Reasons for the great West Indies to bow out in ignominy could be several right from cricket administration in that country, to issues of low wages, the lure of T20 franchisees, the list goes long. And not knowing what to do, the authorities have been into a merry-go-round with captains starting with Richardson and even with coaches starting from Kanhai.  From a nadir, a decline follows. For the grace and beauty of cricket, a strong West Indies team is needed and one can only hope that its board will step in and in the right direction too.