The road to nowhere: The harsh reality of West Indies Test woes

When the Titanic—the supposedly “unsinkable” monster of a ship—hit an iceberg in 1912, the world called it a disaster. So, what do we call the final two Test matches against New Zealand? To call it a “disaster” would be an insult to the Titanic. What we witnessed was, quite simply, catastrophic. Still, the West Indies is being humiliated at times with the same players, with a regularity that suggests we’ve forgotten how the game is actually played. It is time to say enough is enough and give some young players an opportunity. If they lose, so be it, but at least you are preparing them for the future.

We are witnessing the “franchise-ification” of the test team. I mentioned the name Ackeem Auguste. Jewel Andrew is another one, but they are all playing this T20 format, and it is hurting them and West Indies test cricket. No longer do players and coaches seem to care about technique, good foot movement, playing back and across, etc. Now, it’s all about reverse sweeps, top edges, making room, getting your front leg out of the way, slog sweeping, and the list goes on. It’s great for getting a contract in T20 leagues across the globe, but not at the Test level. Once again, the players are looking at this from other international players and, at a young age, feel this is the way to go to get into franchise teams, and maybe it is, but at the test level, it is a failure.

In the top levels of football around the world, a manager with King Sammy’s recent record would have been fired before he could finish his post-match interview. If he is removed, would it now mean that the Cricket West Indies (CWI) hierarchy is finally admitting that they made a mistake? You have a better chance of seeing a living T-Rex from Jurassic Park wandering through the Queen’s Park Savannah than seeing CWI admit an error. In their wisdom, or lack thereof, their experiment with King Sammy being coach and lone selector has failed. The “road to nowhere” has finally arrived, and we’re parked right at the dead end. It is time to get a properly qualified test coach and a team of selectors with a vision for West Indies cricket—not a “King” presiding over a crumbling empire. West Indies cricket will never see that road as we have seen it before, unless changes are made sooner rather than later, but I won’t hold my breath.