This is a question which people have been asking for several years now. Especially by people - like me - who have been brought up on a diet of Calypso cricket for more than 20 years. Obviously the golden age of Lloyd, Richards, Holding, Marshall et al is long gone. Indeed, a whole generation has passed since Clive Lloyd retired and a barely credible 17 years since I heard on the radio that Brian Lara had scored 501 not out for Warwickshire.
Of course it is unfair to expect every young Bajan or Jamaican to stand up to the standard of past giants but there is nothing wrong with aspiring to be amongst the best in the world or at least in helping your team to compete with the top nations, whether it be in one-day or Test matches. Perhaps it is harder to expect the patriotism card to be played for West Indians than representatives of other cricketing citizens because the West Indies is not a country, just a loose federation of states like Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Antigua and so on.
Perhaps the rot started to set in following the retirements of both Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose in 2000 and 2001. Lara carried the flag of world-class talent into the next decade but even by 2003, he was leading a side only eighth in the fledgling ICC Test rankings and sixth in the ODI table. Well, little has changed in the past eight years, as they now stand seventh and eighth, respectively. It has come to a sad state of affairs when to reach the World Cup last eight was seen as a success. Indeed, the Reliance ODI ranking points has them as far behind 7th place New Zealand as they are ahead of 10th placed Ireland - and their performances against Pakistan this week won't change anything.
Of course, a lot of the fault lies with competition for cricket in the Caribbean. Commentators have been bemoaning the rise in basketball there for years. The global (and financial) success of Jamaican athletes can't have helped. Sprinting's gain of Usain Bolt was to the detriment of cricket, as he was allegedly a fine junior player. However, the WI Board should never be allowed near firearms such is their tendency to shoot themselves in the foot. The 2007 World Cup was a fabulous opportunity to raise cricket's profile in the islands - just look at Bangladesh and Pakistan this winter - yet they got greedy and put sponsorship and high ticket prices ahead of developing popular support. Now they seem keen to get rid of the few players who can actually compete with the best in the world. Chris Gayle may not be the best role model, especially with his disdain for Test cricket, but he, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shiv Chanderpaul are still head and shoulders above the young guns, even if Chanderpaul is 36 and not the player he once was, especially in one-dayers.
The Bravo brothers are decent players, as is Darren Sammy, but they need some wise heads to guide them, both on and off the pitch. Kieron Pollard has a fearsome reputation in IPL as a huge hitter but, at only 23 years old, he has yet to play a single Test and even in T20 internationals, has a top score in 17 innings of only 38. His is a talent that should be nurtured for the good of all West Indians, not just the Mumbai Indians!
Andy Roberts is probably right to suggest those in charge should resign but who can take over and rebuild the side before another generation of potential cricket superstars is lost? The West Indies is not the only place where cricket and politics go hand in hand, and not for the greater good of the sport, but after a decade in the doldrums, Caribbean cricket needs a kick up the backside before it slips behind Ireland in those rankings and their players fade ever deeper in the long shadows of their illustrious forebears.
