Last week I recalled the 2007 Test series between England and the West Indies, when the latter were well and truly thumped. It is chastening to see how, after that incredible purple patch in the 1970s-80s, the once calypso kings have struggled in the past decade. Apart from short series against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, they have won only one Test series since their two-match home rubber against Sri Lanka nine years ago.
That single triumph came in 2009, when Andrew Strauss's side visited the Caribbean for a four-Test series. With the second Test started and abandoned owing to dangerous footholds (!) and and massive scoring leading to three draws, the first Test on Jamaica decided the whole contest. England chose to bat and, thanks to Pietersen's 97, reached 318. A double-century second-wicket partnership between captain Chris Gayle and Ramnesh Sarwan helped the home side to a 74-run lead, so honours fairly even, you'd think. However, in a crazy 2 1/2 hours on day 4, batting suddenly became impossible. Jerome Taylor was devastating, taking 5-11 in nine overs, assisted by Sulieman Benn's left-armers and England were bowled out for a mere 51 in 33 overs, beaten by an innings! And not a Walsh or Ambrose in sight. Well, not on the pitch, anyway.
Runs were to flow again soon afterwards as England racked up more than 500 first innings runs in each of the next three Tests, coming perilously close to winning in both Antigua and Trinidad. At Bridgetown they scored 600-6, only to be trumped by the Windies' 749-9 declared, including Sarwan's majestic 291. Only a few months later, the Wisden Trophy was again up for grabs, this time on English soil. The home side was a lot less forgiving, and the West Indian batsmen never got going. At Lord's, Ravi Bopara scored a century before Graeme Onions took 5-38 on his debut. It was Tim Bresnan's first Test appearance, too, but he had little opportunity to shine because his team-mates took all the wickets in fairly quick time. Following on, Gayle went for an 11-ball duck - how often has that happened?! - and his side eventually fell for 256, leaving Strauss and Cook a paltry target to win in under three days.
At Chester-le-Street, it was an even more decisive result. Alastair Cook's 160 and Bopara's third successive hundred laid the platform for a huge 569-6 declared, also assisted by 61 extras and 28 no-balls, half delivered by Fidel Edwards. In reply, only Sarwan (100) and Ramdin passed 40 as the tourists followed on 259 behind. Gayle was in one of those 'all or nothing' moods, but once he was out for a 43-ball half-century, the rest of the team capitulated to the seam of Anderson and Bresnan, succumbing by an innings and 83.
Since then, the West Indies have managed only two Test match triumphs, one at home to Pakistan and one in Bangladesh. The latter nation inflicted possibly the most humiliating series defeat of all soon after the loss in England. Being beaten in England was forgivable but to go down 2-0 in the Caribbean to lowly Bangladesh was something else. Shakib-al-Hasan's side shone, although there were mitigating circumstances in that the home team was practically a reserve side fielding seven debutants thanks to a contractual dispute between the leading players and the WICB. Even so, the West Indians under Darren Sammy, who played in that summer 2009 debacle, will do well to avoid another rout against Cook, KP, Anderson et al, even if Ravi Bopara won't be there to score more centuries.
