Does West Indies' World T20 win signal the death of their Test cricket?

Tue, Apr 5, '16

West Indies now hold the world Under-19 and the men's and women's T20 titles, but will the next generation of players gravitate towards Test cricket at all?
At a time of rebirth, it seems incongruous to say the West Indies' triumph rings the death knell for their long-form cricket aspirations. Yet one cannot but wonder if that magnificent finale by Carlos Brathwaite spells the end of Test cricket, maybe even ODI success, for this mighty cricketing nation.

Inasmuch as West Indies played some of their most abject cricket towards the end of 2015 in Australia, in three short months, there has been the most remarkable turnaround imaginable. An Under-19 championship, and now the men's and women's T20 crowns.

Of course, the Test team and the T20 team share very little except the logo on the shirts. And yet, in a delicious irony, two of three Test players in the starting XI for the World T20 final, Marlon Samuels and Brathwaite himself, were the unlikely heroes at the death. There were times in the summer when the chances of Samuels ever playing any form of cricket for West Indies were possibly questionable. Eighty-five not out in a winning team? Never!
At a time of rebirth, it seems incongruous to say the West Indies' triumph rings the death knell for their long-form cricket aspirations. Yet one cannot but wonder if that magnificent finale by Carlos Brathwaite spells the end of Test cricket, maybe even ODI success, for this mighty cricketing nation.