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PROBLEMS are never far away in West Indies cricket; they have come in profusion for two decades now.

The latest is the real possibility of failure to qualify for the 2017 ODI Champions Trophy in England and the fallout that would follow.

As tenuous as it has become and as demeaning as it is for a team that once utterly dominated the international game, the West Indies value their status among the top eight international teams more than ever. To be absent in England two years hence would further damage the already diminishing interest of players and public, both now under the spell of T20.

more at Trinidad Express

In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

Amazing that Cozier can't bring himself to draw the parallel between the 2015 World Cup selection policy and WI troubles...

In reply to FanAttick

Just a pity we didn't find it prudent to take our full-strength team to the WC.

Or better yet, a pity some key players found it prudent to abandon that now infamous Hindian tour.

In reply to Drapsey

Totally agree.
The players are not blameless in this case.
The WI had problems, but what happened in India (The tour that was not) exacerbated the situation and may have started that spiral to the bottom of the rankings.
Make no mistake, Bangladesh is becoming a force not to be taken lightly in one day games and Zimbabwe, although not winning consistently, have been very competitive.
That leaves a very mercurial Pakistan, who on a good day can beat anyone.

In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

Don't know how long will this Doomed Titanic called "West Indies" will stay afloat before eventually going under.

Frankly, the sooner regional teams decide to go Alone, the sooner in the future they will have the same (if not better) status as that of Sri Lanka (who started in 80's), Zimbabwe, Bangladesh etc.

There is no greater inspiration and reality check, than Bangladesh.

This month they have beaten India, Pakistan And South Africa.

They are assured of a Champions Trophy Place, ahead of Pakistan and West Indies.

There is absolutely no reason why, in the future, a Barbados, or Jamaica, or Trinidad & Tobago etc can't achieve the same.
Yes, the beginning will be very tough. In the short run, there will be innumerable challenges.

But so did Bangladesh. Look where they are NOW.

In reply to thefacts

Give it up! Most people on this site can't see past their nose which in many cases is soiled in WICB crap. The youth in Jamaica and Trinidad would certainly be more motivated to play cricket for their country of birth if they broke away from the colonialistic WI cricket.

In reply to CaribbeanCricket.com

Dave definitely won't want Tony to commentate on West Indies cricket broadcasts now.

T20 is a crap shoot and 50 Overs less so; lime the different types of lottery in NYC. Bangladesh concentrated on playing as many games in the format they are competitive in and putting all their eggs in that basket. They won at home against SA, Pak and India yes but my understanding from info out there is SA and India were already in and are teams in a bit of transition as they prep for the ICC.

There are quite a few SA players in the CPL showing the passing of the torch. Pak has always been an enigma and they are also transitioning players. India papers also talking about player changes, so Bang wins came at an opportune time it seems.

Both WICB and the players in their anger did not
anticipate this fallout because at moment they were not counting number of matches played/due or contemplating the ICC tourney; it was a family fight over finances. That rarely ends well!

Bang will finish where they should after the ICC series last! Anyone who thinks otherwise really over rating them and on England to boot!

As to TnT and Jamaica going it alone well when one of them wins the WICB tournaments like Serena or Federa year in year out then they can talk. These teams barely can beat each other much less the top 5 teams. Remember when Bim dominated they won year in and year out, not so these days.

In reply to Scar

A team in the region does not have to be dominant like Serena to go it alone. It just could be that the regional teams are close in their standards. Teams like Jersey, Argentina and Singapore are probably around the same tier and compete on their own. West Indian islands on a higher teir so why they cannot compete as individual countries? It could just be for T20 and have tests combined just like Great Britain competes together for some sports and individual entities in others.

When it comes to resources you can't say that countries like Papa New Guinea should not play international cricket because they don't have stadia or resources when most cricket islands in the West Indies already have that in place.

The hold back is politics, not performance.

In reply to BenGman

What puts our islands on a higher tier? My friend county clubs the world over play higher tier cricket than our islands. The standard of play of the islands is below all other FC levels. The better players of the past honing their skills overseas proves that. With one or two good day exceptions our current players have struggled in overseas county cricket and thus get dropped.
The Great Britain moniker is just that and is kept for historical purposes. The individuals that play for England have mother father backgrounds allowing them to play for England if they want, I dont see an abundance of players from Ireland, Scotland, Fauklands , etc
clamoring to play for England, but most a dem not good enough anyway. In any case the Pommies will try to steal away from those countries to stifle competition

Like I said,T20 is a crap shoot beat me today I beat you tomorrow and repeat! That part about politics means you are saying that you want governments to run and find cricket like Pakistan does instead of it remaining non political? You want more upheaval than is already there? WI countries can barely eke out satisfactory GNP is cricket dem can afford to find?! Talk about a black hole . Dude doh matter how much pride WI players have for their homeland monetary pride matters much more. They will not put aside a bigger paycheck for homeland if the two tangle.

In reply to BenGman