The West Indies Cricket Board make my blood boil. How can it be that a Test playing nation with a talent pool that includes the likes of Chris Gayle, Jerome Taylor, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard can struggle so much to win test matches. I now see that the Player's Association has filed a $20 million lawsuit against the board?! Surely all this doesn't add up to a side of world beaters, but what exactly went wrong to lead to such a fiasco?
The advent of Twenty 20, in particular the IPL, has meant that these immensely talented players are only required to play for 6 weeks a year in India to eclipse their central contract salaries for the entire year. What a shame that we cannot produce enough revenue from test cricket to keep these guys turning out for their nation. Are we heading down the avenue of football where a man will pick club above county 9 times out of 10? This fan sure hopes not.
Could it be a better sign of these player's character than the state of the game? The desire to wear the baggy green or turn out for England remains the pinnacle of any aspiring Aussie of Pommy kid. Why is it so then that test cricket doesn't seem to rate in the West Indies? I'm sure there are plenty who disagree but i think greed is on the rise and pride has began free fall. I think it's time these blokes man up, knuckle down, work hard and get the West Indies back out of the 'calypso cricketer' frame that Clive Lloyd fought so hard to end back in the late 70's.
I firmly believe the crowds will return to Guyana, Kensington Oval and Sabina Park if there is a real chance to see their heroes take it to the best in the world. With that said the revenue will once again flow, the team will once again be successful and the cricketing world will be better for the experience. If only it were all that simple...
I truly hope that 30 years from now we can see a sequel to Fire in Babylon based on the next generation of Carribean cricketers. I'm sure the WICB are trying hard and no doubt the players want to be paid their worth. If only they could put behind their differences and play some damn cricket!
i fear its the draw of the american sports that are taking west indian athletes from the game. ambrose was offered a deal to play basketball in the us but turned it down because he loved cricket. Look what happened there. what would have been the tall fast bowlers of the windies have all gone to make dollars elsewhere. Still, this is no excuse for the treatment of gale.
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