Given the well-documented background, it is tempting to dismiss West Indies' triumph in the engrossing, fluctuating, nerve-wracking final Test over England as simply a one-off against opponents suddenly overtaken by internal problems that mirror their own.

After two decades of steady decline, West Indies remained entrenched at eighth in the official Test rankings entering the series; England were third. It was enough to prompt the scepticism.

The doubts have begun to perceptively fade over the past five weeks. This team's spirit in repeatedly fighting against tough situations that have overwhelmed others in the recent past have given new hope of a revival of fortunes.

There were several theories on what triggered it.

In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

Look it is time that people in this Forum &
in the Region face stark reality . Rather
than going into orgasams by the fact that
our Players won a match to draw a Series vs
England .

This is how low WE have become ; imagine
drawing a Series , and many of us behaving as if we won the Series .

We all need to face the stark reality of
Cricket in the Region . By now is should be very evident to ALL except those who are mentally challenged ; that the Standard of Cricket in the Region is Piss
Poor , and that is putting it mildly .

The blame for this rests squarely on those in the governance of Cricket in the Region . They have bluntly refused to address the
fact that Our Players are playing less
Cricket than their Counterparts on Teams
ranked above our Team .

This aint no freaking trifling matter ,
because playing a lot of Cricket at the highest level in the Region especially in
the longer versions of the game increases
Players Mental & Physical Stamina ; increases their powers of Concentration ,
and the ability to forge fruitful partnerships .

These traits cannot be bought any where ,
they can only be acquired by playing a lot
of Cricket at the highest level . I defy anyone to seriously disprove this fact .

Now I have continuously stated in this Forum that the disparity regarding the number of matches Our Players have played vs their opponents on Teams ranked above our Players is not only very telling ; but impinges on the competitiveness of our
Players & Team in the International Cricket Arena .

The Solution is simple , Our Players MUST
Play more matches at the Regional level to acquire the skills I have named above . I am fully aware of the fact that some Dingbats will come here and cite the PCL ,
that was formed 3 years ago .

My response to that nonsense , is tell me
what was done prior to the PCL , to harness ; enhance & hone the abilities of our Players for 30 plus freaking years .



Obviously to make our Players fully competitive Money must be spent , however
that money would easily be recouped when Our Players start winning matches in all versions of the game consistently .

Now if the WICB refuses to do this , and having Camps of a minimum of 2 weeks , it
needs to walk quietly into the night .
Cricket is a very serious business; and
that means the business of Cricket must be
taken very seriously .

The Reckless behaviour of the WICB regarding the recent
cancellation of the Tour to India proves that the WICB has no business acumen .

It would have been nice if Tony Cozier had
chosen to focus on causes of the Ills of Cricket in the Region .

So that they could be addressed , by not
addressing them , means that they not only remain hidden in plain sight ; They still
exist , and as a result ensures that despite
talented Players , Our Team will be still
wallowing at or near the bottom .

Putting a Band aid on Cancer aint going to
arrest Cancer . Any Sports Writer in the
Region who refuses to address two basic
Facts regarding Cricket in the Region , is
doing a disservice to his /her Profession .
The Truth is that the Standard of Cricket
in the Region is below the level of what is Required in International Cricket .

To alleviate this problem , Our Players
must play much more Cricket than they are
currently playing particularly in the longer versions of the game at the Regional Level .

The purpose of doing this is to harness ; enhance & hone the skills of our Players
in all facets of the game , especially
Physically ; Mentally ; also the ability
to concentrate for long periods ; and forge fruitful Partnerships .

Having 1 week Camps are not helpful , when consideration is given to the fact that our Players are playing less Cricket than their opponents on Teams ranked above our
Team .

All I have been asking people in this Forum is to check the Stats of Players on Teams ranked above our Team , and then compare them to the Stats of our Players ,
the disparity is very Stark .

This is why our Team in matches against
those Teams particularly in the longer versions of the game are at a distinct disadvantage .

The sad thing is that those who are Sports Journalists in the Region will never ever
bring up these Issues , perhaps that is because they are Eunuchs of those in the
governance of Cricket in the Region .

They are a large part of the problem , not the solution , writing Articles while refusing to tell the Emperors that they are stark naked , aint going help the improvement of Cricket in the Region .