For West Indies Test cricket to be saved from extinction, major reform is needed

Tue, Dec 8, '15

Allan Border had played seven series against the West Indies. Six had been lost, and one drawn. This time would be different.

Australia’s last-wicket pair was, somehow, on the brink of regaining the Frank Worrell Trophy. Only two more runs were needed for Australia to win the fourth Test of the 1992-93 series at Adelaide and secure the series with a game to spare.

Then along came Courtney Walsh. He located a brutal lifter that compelled Craig McDermott to edge behind, at least in the umpire’s reading: the West Indies had won by one run. As Australia inched towards victory, Border sat in the Australian dressing room, juggling a cricket ball. When the umpire raised his finger Australia’s captain launched his ball to the ground: “An entire career’s worth of frustration captured in a single gesture,” as Malcolm Knox put it.

It was an image of a man who felt that he would never beat the West Indies. Border was right: while the series was tied at 1-1 going into the fifth Test, Curtly Ambrose consigned Australia to an innings defeat in the decider. Border scored a pair. In a 16-year international career, he would never beat the West Indies in a series.