History of the West Indies cricket team
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The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as The Windies, is a national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of the Caribbean countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago. (These are the countries of the former West Indies Federation, plus Guyana on the South American mainland, being originally British colonies.) The team is administrated by the West Indies Cricket Board.
Overview
The West Indies were a relatively minor force in world cricket till early 1960s. They grew in strength throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, culminating in a then-record streak of 11 consecutive Test victories in 1984 as they dominated the game with a fearsome fast bowling attack including the greats Joel Garner, Michael Holding, and Malcolm Marshall, and flamboyant and talented batsmen such as Viv Richards and Clive Lloyd. In addition to their pace attack the West Indies have been able to call upon spin bowlers such as Sonny Ramadhin, largely drawn from the Asian communities of Guyana and Trinidad
Throughout the 1990s, however, West Indian cricket declined, in part due to the rise in popularity of basketball, athletics and soccer in West Indian countries, and the team today is struggling to regain its past glories. Other theorists point out that the West Indies are still able to get good results at youth level but not at senior level. It is theorised that while other sides have improved their training regimes the West Indies have not. Both England and Australia have developed national academies that have delivered quality players for their national teams but no such institution exists for the West Indies as each island would want the academy to be located in their island.
National teams also exist for the various different islands and they take part in the Busta Cup and play against side touring the West Indies.
Early tours
The first international cricket played in the West Indies was between local sides and English tourists. RS Lucas toured Jamaica with a team in 1894/5. AA Priestley then toured in 1896/7 playing in Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica. The matches included one against a side styled "All West Indies", which the West Indians won. Lord Hawke's team toured around the same time, playing Trinidad, Barbados and British Guiana (now Guyana). In 1900 Aucher Warner led a touring side to England, but none of these matches was first-class, and then RA Bennett's XI toured in 1901/2 playing three games against "West Indies", which the hosts won two-one, and in 1904/5 Lord Brackley's XI toured - winning both its games against "West Indies".
In 1906 Harold Austin led a West Indian side to England, playing a number of county opposition, and drawing their game against an "England XI". The MCC, who had already taken over responsibility for arranging all official overseas England tours by that time, visited Jamaica in 1910/1, but after that there was no international cricket of any note until a full tour of England in 1923. There was no game against "England" in 1923, but there was an end-of-season game against HDG Leveson-Gower's XI against a virtual England Test side at the Scarborough festival, which Leveson-Gower's XI won by only four wickets. 1925/6 saw another short MCC tour of Jamaica.
On 31 May 1926 the West Indian Cricket Board, along with their New Zealand and Indian counterparts, was elected to the Imperial Cricket Council (now the International Cricket Council). This meant they joined England, Australia and South Africa as teams that could play official Test matches, and they became the fourth team to play a recognised Test match on 23 June 1928 when they took on England at Lord's in London. The West Indies lost all three 3-day Tests in the 1928 tour by an innings, failing to score 250 runs in an innings in that series. They also failed to dismiss England for under 350 runs in a series completely dominated by England.
The 1930s
The West Indies played 19 Tests in the 1930s in four series against England and one against Australia. 1929/0 saw an England team tour the West Indies under the leadership of the Honourable Freddie Calthorpe. As was the practice at the time, the West Indian teams for the each Test was selected by the local cricket board. West Indies ended up having four different captains for the four Test matches. As Harold Gilligan was leading another English team to New Zealand at exactly the same time, this was not a full-strength England side. However, on 26 February 1930 the West Indies scored their first Test win. The series was drawn at one-all when Calthorpe's team left, with West Indians George Headley scoring the most runs (703) and Learie Constantine taking most wickets (18) in the series.
The Windies were invited to tour Australia in 1930/1, and left in March 1931 having lost 4-1, but having made a very good impression, although their hosts did not appreciate at first that their Roman Catholic beliefs would mean they would refuse to play golf on Sundays or engage in more ribald behaviour . The West Indian sides of the time were always led by white men, and the touring party to Australia comprised seven whites and eleven "natives", and the West Indian Board of Control wrote to their Australian counterparts saying "that all should reside at the same hotels". Australia at the time was implementing its "White Australia" policy, with the Australian Board having to guarantee to the Government that the non-whites would leave at the end of the tour. When the West Indians arrived in Sydney, the whites were immediately given a different hotel from the blacks. They complained, and thereafter their wishes were met. The tour lost a lot of money, part of which was down to the Great Depression then engulfing Australia. The West Indians won four and lost eight of their 14 first-class fixtures, with George Headley and Learie Constantine respectively topping the batting and bowling lists again.
1933 saw another tour of England. Their hosts had just come back from defeating Australia in the infamous Bodyline series, where England's aggressive bolwing at the body with a leg-side field attracted much criticism. England won the three-Test series of three-day Tests two-one, but with the second, drawn, Test at Old Trafford, Manchester providing an intriguing footnote to the Bodyline controversy. Manny Martindale and Learie Constantine bowled Bodyline - fast short-pitched balls aimed at the body - against the Englishmen, most notably against Douglas Jardine, the English captain who ordered his players to bowl it against the Australians. Jardine didn't flinch as he scored 127 out of England's 374.
Another England tour of the West Indies followed in 1934/5. England won the first Test in Barbados on a poor pitch. The West Indies were put in by England and made 102. England declared on 81 for 7, 21 runs behind, so they could have another go at the Windies before the pitch dried fully. The West Indies tried the same trick when they declared on 51 for 6 to set the tourists a target of 73, which they got with 4 wickets to spare. It would be 60 years before another touring side won in Barbados. The second Test saw the Windies win by 217 runs, and a drawn third Test saw the series go to a decider at Sabina Park in Jamaica. A massive 270 not out from George Headley saw the Windies declare on 535 for 7. Despite a century from Les Ames, England could not avoid going down by an innings and 161 runs - the West Indies had secured their first Test series victory.
The West Indies toured England in 1939. England won the first Test at Lord's easily by 8 wickets, then there was a rain-affected draw in Manchester, and finally a high-scoring Test at the Oval in mid-August. In their first innings the hosts put on 352 with Learie Constantine taking 5 for 75. In reply the West Indies made 498, with Bam Bam Weekes making 137 and Vic Stollmeyer 96 in the only innings of his career. With the bowlers making little impression, the game petered out into a draw with Len Hutton making 165 not out and Wally Hammond 138. The highlight of the series for the West Indies was George Headley scoring hundreds in both innings in the Lord's Test. With the clouds of War seemingly about to envelope Europe, the rest of the tour was cancelled and the Windies returned home. They would play no more Tests for eight and a half years.
The 1940s
21 January 1948 saw the start of the first Test the West Indies played since the War, which resulted in a draw against the MCC side from England. The second Test was also drawn, with George Carew and Andy Ganteaume both making centuries. Ganteaume was then dropped, ending with a Test average of 112 - the highest in Test history. Frank Worrell's undefeated 131 was the difference in the third Test, with the Windies winning by 7 wickets. 141 from Everton Weekes helped them to a 10 wicket victory in the fourth and final Test to wrap up the series two-nil.
In 1948, West Indies toured newly independent India for the first time for a five Test tour. The tour was preceded by a non-Test tour of Pakistan and followed by a similar short tour of Ceylon. After three high-scoring draws against the Indians, the West Indians wrapped up the fourth by an innings, before a thrilling fifth Test, which left the Indians six runs away from victory, with two wickets in hand as stumps were drawn. Carrying on from his hundred in the series against England, Weekes set a record of scoring hundreds in five successive Test innings.
The 1950s
1950 saw another tour of England. Of the nine warm-up games before the first Test, the Windies won four, lost one and drew four, which seemed like good preparation. However, although Alf Valentine single-handedly spun England to 88 for 5 in the first innings, he couldn't stop Godfrey Evans (104) and Trevor Bailey (82*) revived England to 312 all out. Everton Weekes' 52 was the highest score in the Windies reply of 215, and England went on to set a target of 386 before Bob Berry and Eric Hollies bowled the visitors out for 183. However, the feature of the series was already established: dominance by the spinners. Valentine took 11 wickets, and with Sonny Ramadhin would win the series for the visitors. The second Test saw the Windies put on 326 thanks to 106 from Allan Rae before Valentine (4 for 48) and Ramadhin (5 for 66). A mammoth 168 from Clyde Walcott saw England set a theoretical target of 601. Ramadhin's 6 for 86 and Valentine's 3 for 79 dismissed the hosts for 274. The spinning duo took 12 wickets, Frank Worrell made 261 and Everton Weekes 129 as the third Test went the Windies way by 10 wickets, and 14 wickets from Valentine and Ramadhin and centuries from Rae and Worrell saw England defeated by an innings and 56 runs despite Len Hutton's undefeated 202 in England's first innings. The West Indies won the series 3-1.
In 1951/2 the Windies visited Australia. The first Test saw a narrow defeat by three wickets, with the two spinners seemingly continuing their form with twelve wickets between them. The second Test was lost by seven wickets, as Australia replied to the Windies 362 and 290 with 567 (which included centuries from Lindsay Hassett and Keith Miller) and 137 for 2. 6 wickets from Worrell in the third Test saw Australia dismissed for only 82. However, the Windies' lead on first innings was only 23. Despite 6 wickets from Valentine, the hosts made 255 in the second innings, but the Windies were able to knock off their target with six wickets spare. The fourth Test saw the narrowest possible result. Worrell, batting with an injured hand, scored 108 and helped the Windies to 272 before Australia made 216 in reply (John Trim taking 5 for 34. 203 from the Windies left Australia a target of 260. 5 wickets from Valentine helped reduced the Aussies to 222 for 9, 38 short with 1 wicket remaining. It didn't happen, as some brilliant running between the wicket by Bill Johnston and Doug Ring saw West Indies lose their composure and the match. Aussies gained an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series. The fifth Test saw three batting collapses, as Australia (116 and 377) beat Windies (78 and 213) by 202 runs. The West Indies then went on to New Zealand. In the first Test encounter between the two teams, Ramadhin and Valentine combined to take eight wickets as New Zealand fell for 236, and later six wickets to dismiss them for 189 in their second innings. 287 and 142 for 5 saw the visitors to a 5 wicket victory. In the second and final Test, Alf Rae scored 99, Jeffrey Stollmeyer 152, Frank Worrell 100 and Clyde Walcott 115 as the West Indies put on 546 for 6 declared. There wasn't enough time to bowl out the opposition twice though, as the hosts made 160 and were following-on at 17 for 1 when stumps were drawn.
The Indians toured at the beginning of 1953. The first Test petered out into a draw after India made 417 (Polly Umrigar 130) and the Windies 438 (Everton Weekes 207, Bruce Pairaudeau 115. Ramadhin's 5 for 26 on the way to dismissing India for 129 in their second innings in the second Test saw the hosts score a 142 run victory before the other three Tests were played out for draws. The highlight of these games was Frank Worrell's 237 in the fifth Test, where all the three W's scored hundreds, as the West Indies scored a one-nil series victory.
Len Hutton led an MCC (England) side to the islands in 1953/4. Sonny Ramadhin again starred for the Windies taking 23 wickets (no other West Indian took more than 8), as Walcott's 698 runs was more than 200 higher than second-placed West Indian, Everton Weekes. 417 and 209 for 6 declared saw the Windies beat England's 170 and 316 by 140 runs. Walcott's 220 and John Holt's 166 helped the hosts to a 181 victory margin in the second Test. Hutton's 169 was the largest score in the third Test, as the MCC won by 9 wickets. This Test saw a major incident when the crowd protested a runout by throwing bottles on the ground. A high-scoring draw followed, with Weekes making a double-century and Worrell, Walcott, Peter May and Denis Compton making centuries. Trevor Bailey's 7 for 34 saw out the Windies for 139 in the fifth and final Test, and then Len Hutton's 205 took England to 414. The Windies second innings was better, but their 346 could only set a target of 72 runs, which England got for the loss of only one wicket to tie the series two-two. This Test saw the first appearance of the 17 year old Garry Sobers.
Australia came and conquered in 1954/5. After the Aussies made 515 in the first innings of the first Test, the Windies went down by 9 wickets. Then the Windies 382 was put in the shade by 600 for 9 declared by the visitors as the second Test was drawn. A low-scoring third Test saw Australia (257 and 133 for 2) beat the hosts (182 and 207) by 8 wickets. After Australia scored 668 in the fourth Test, the series was lost, although a double century from captain Denis Atkinson and a world record stand for the seventh wicket allowed the Windies to reach 510 and draw the Test. The fifth Test saw the West Indies win the toss and bat. Walcott's 155 was the highest score of their 357. The Australians then batted and batted, in total for 245.4 overs in the 6-day Test, as they put on 758 for 8 declared, with five players making centuries. 319 in the West Indies' second innings left them defeated by an innings and 82 runs in the Test, and by three games to nil in the series. Walcott set records by scoring five hundreds, and hundreds in both innings of a match twice.
A short tour of New Zealand in February 1956 saw four Tests played. After two wins by an innings and one by 9 wickets, the Kiwis surprised the Windies in the fourth, dismissing them for 145 and 77 as they recorded their first ever Test win in their 45th Test.
John Goddard returned to captain the West Indians for a tour of England in 1957. The team contained all the key players of the 1950 tour but ended up as a disaster. West Indies looked like winning the first Test when Ramadhin took 7 for 49. But in the second innings, Peter May and Colin Cowdrey, using their pads more often than the bat, put on 411 runs and reduced Ramadhin to such hopelessness that he was never the same bowler again. England won three Tests and nearly won the other two.
Against Pakistan at Kingston in 1958, Garry Sobers scored 365 notout setting a new world record for the highest score in Test cricket. This match saw West Indies make 790 for 3, their highest ever score.
Collie Smith, a promising all-rounder, had been one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1958. While playing in the Lancashire League in 1959, he died in a car accident.
The 1960s
Despite being a country where whites are a minority, till 1960 West Indies were always captained by white cricketers. Throughout the fifites voices, mainly lead by C. L. R. James and Learie Constantine, calling for a black captain grew. Finally, Frank Worrell was chosen to lead West Indies in their tour of Australia in 1960. In his three years as captain, Worrell moulded a bunch of talented, but raw cricketers into the best team in the world.
In 1960, Australia were the best team in the world but on their way down, while West Indies were on their way up. It so happened that when they met, the two teams were of almost equal strength. The result was one of the greatest series of all time. The first Test in Brisbane ended in a tie. The teams shared the next two Tests. In the fourth, Australia's last pair of Ken Mackay and Lindsay Kline played out the last 100 minutes of the match to earn a draw, while Australia won the final Test and the series by two wickets. One of the days of play was attended by a world record crowd of 90,800. Such was the impression created by Worrell's team that the newly instituted trophy for the series between the two teams was named the Frank Worrell Trophy. Half a million people lined the streets of Melbourne to bid them farewell.
West Indies had little trouble disposing off India 5-0 at home next year. In 1963, they beat a fine English team by three matches to one. The Lord's Test of this series saw a famous finish. With two balls left, England needed six runs to win, and West Indies one wicket. The non-striker was Colin Cowdrey who had his left arm in a sling, having fractured it earlier in the day. However, David Allen safely played out the last two balls and the match ended in a draw. Worrell retired at the end of the series. The selectors picked Garry Sobers to succeed him. Worrell served as the team manager when West Indies hosted Australia in 1964/65.
The matches against Australia were bitterly fought, with accusations about Charlie Griffith's action, and bouncer wars. The West Indies won this series 2-1 to be the unofficial world champions. Sobers, however, was no Worrell and cracks soon began to appear. Often it was his individual brilliance that made the difference between a win and a loss. Throughout the sixties, West Indies bowling was led by Wes Hall, Griffith, Lance Gibbs and Sobers himself. Hall and Griffith faded and then retired by the end of the decade, but WI could find no replacement for them till the mid-seventies.
Sobers was at his best in England in 1966 scoring 722 runs and taking 20 wickets in the five Tests. Three times he topped 150, and the 163* at Lord's turned a certain defeat into a near victory. West Indies won 3-1, but the victory was somewhat soured by an unexpected innings defeat in the last Test.
Sir Frank Worrell died in 1967 from leukaemia at the age of 42.
England toured West Indies in 1967-68. West Indies were forced to follow on in the first Test but saved it without difficulty. The second Test was played on an under-prepared wicket at Kingston. England won an important toss and scored 376. The bounce of the wicket having become very uneven, West Indies collapsed to 143 and followed on again. On the fourth day in the second innings, a disputed decision led to a crowd riot and the match had to be stopped for some time. In a curious decision, the West Indian Cricket Board (WICB) agreed to add a 75-minute sixth day to compensate for the lost time. Sobers played an outstanding innings of 113* which allowed West Indies to set England a target of 159 in 155 minutes. England just about saved the game losing eight wickets for 68.
West Indies gained a first innings lead of 122 in the fourth Test at Port-of-Spain but with the second innings score at 92 for 2, Sobers surprisingly declared the innings. England were set a target of 215 in 165 minutes and they achieved it with 3 minutes to spare. Sobers' unnecessary generosity was widely cricticised. The declaration was pointless because West Indies had little chance of winning the match. Hall was not playing and Griffith was out with injury. It left only Gibbs and Sobers to carry the bowling. West Indies made one last effort to win the final Test, but England drew it with only wicket left in their second innings. West Indies lost the series 0-1, the first defeat since 1960-61.
From then, West Indies were on their way down. Australia and Bill Lawry had their revenge in 1968-69. West Indies won the first Test at Brisbane thanks to Sobers' career best 6/73, but Australia won the next two. The fourth seemed to go the way of the third when Australia took a first innings lead of 247. West Indies fought back magnificiently - Butcher scored a century, Kanhai, Joey Carew and David Holford narrowly missed theirs. They were all out on the last morning for 616, setting Australia 360 to win. Australia entered the last hour needing 57 with seven wickets in hand. After series of runouts - including Ian Redpath who was Mankaded- they were 333 for 9. But the last pair held on till the end. Any hopes of coming back were destroyed by the Australian first innings of 619 at Sydney, which included a 242 by Doug Walters. Lawry did not enforce the follow on, and instead set West Indies 735 to win in nearly two days. West Indies lost the series 1-3.
New Zealand managed to draw the series that followed. West Indies wound up with a 0-2 defeat in the three Tests in England. A decade that began with Worrell and so much promise had evolved into the darkest years, at least until the early 2000s, in the West Indian cricket history.
The 1970s
West Indies' woes overflowed into the seventies. At home in 1970-71 , they lost to India for the first time. In the next year, a five Test series against New Zealand cricket team ended with no team coming remotely close to winning one. The problem continued to be the bowling. The bowlers who accompanied Sobers in the Test that was lost to India were Vanburn Holder , Grayson Shillingford, Jack Noreiga and Arthur Barrett which is not the sort of attack that is likely to win Test matches. A major find in the New Zealand series was Lawrence Rowe who started off with a double century and century on his debut. He was immensely talented but his temparament did not let him go far.
Sobers continued to be the greatest cricketer in the world. Even in the series against India, he had scored three hundreds and a 93. In 1970 he captained a Rest of the World - arguably the greatest team ever assembled - in a five 'Test' series against England. In the first match of the series, he hit 183 and took 6/21 and 2/43. Neville Cardus was impressed enough to write that given a wicketkeeper and, say, Mike Procter, Sobers could defeat the English team on his own. A year later, he captained another similar side to Australia . RoW fell behind early and Sobers faced cricticim for spending more time on the golf course than with his players. Sobers responded with an innings of 254 at Melbourne, putting the Australian wonderboy Dennis Lillee in his place while doing so and eventually winning the series. He then landed up in a controversy when he partnered South African captain Ali Bacher in a double wicket tournament in Rhodesia. Some cricket boards, Guyana in particular, demanded his censure. Fed up, he stepped down as the captain and rested himself from the home series against Australia in 1972-73.
Under Rohan Kanhai, West Indies showed the first signs of revival. Australia won the closely fought series by two Tests. With Sobers back - but Kanhai still the captain - West Indies hammered England in 1973. One spectacular performance was by the new boy Keith Boyce who hit 72 and took 11 wickets at the Oval. At Lord's, West Indies won by an innings and 226 runs, their biggest win against England. The return series in West Indies ended 1-1, though the home team was clearly the better side. Rowe continued his dream run scoring three centuries including a 302 at Kingston. The final Test of this series marked the ended of an era in West Indies cricket - it was the last Test of both Garry Sobers and Rohan Kanhai - and the beginning of the most glorious period in their history.
Lloyd's Team
The new captain Clive Lloyd had made his first appearance in Test cricket in 1966 and had since become a fixture in the side. His avuncular appearance and a stoop near the shoulders masked the fact that was a very fine fielder, especially in the covers, and a devastating stroke player. Lloyd's first assignment was the tour of India in 1974-75.
In the ten years from 1963, hardly one new bowler of note had joined the West Indian team. Finally, the MCC tour of the previous season saw the first appearance of Andy Roberts. He was joined by Michael Holding in 1975 -76. Colin Croft and Joel Garner made their debut in the next year, and Malcolm Marshall two years after. In the span of about four years, West Indies brought together a bowling line up of a quality that had rarely been seen before. The Indian tour saw the debut of Vivian Richards, arguably the finest West Indian batsman ever, and Gordon Greenidge who never got the credit he deserved because he was an exact contemporary of Richards. The team already had the batsmen Alvin Kallicharran and opener Roy Fredericks in addition to Rowe and Lloyd.
West Indies won the first two Tests against India comfortably. Greenidge started his career with 107 and 93 on his debut. Richards failed in his first Test, but scored 192* in his second. India fought back to win the next two, but Lloyd hit 242* in the final Test to win the series.
West Indies won the inaugural World Cup in England in 1975 defeating Australia in the final. At the end of the year they toured Australia, only to lose 1-5 in the six-Test series. It was mostly impetous and irresponsible batting that lost the series. The Australians bowled bouncers liberally, the batsmen could not restrain themselves but could not clear the long boundaries. The only Test that West Indies won was at Perth. When West Indies started their innings 90 minutes before lunch, Fredericks hooked the second ball from Lillee for six. In the fourteen overs before lunch, West Indies made 130 for 1, Fredericks 81*. He reached 50 off 33 balls, 100 in 71 and went on score 169.
India toured West Indies in early 1976. West Indies won the first Test and nearly lost the second in Port of Spain. The third Test was to be played at Georgetown but because of heavy rains it was shifted to Port of Spain. West Indies went in with three spinners, dominated the early part of the match and set India 403 to win in the second innings. The failure of the spinners to stop the Indians from winning led Lloyd to rely completely on his fast bowlers from then on. The immediate result was some nasty bits of bowling in the Kingston Test that followed. The West Indian bowlers, especially Michael Holding, bowled bouncers and not infrequently, beamers, from around the wicket targetting the batsmen. Three batsmen were put in the hospital. India closed their second innings with only five wickets down West Indies won by ten wickets.
England were the next in line. In a TV interview before the series, English captain Tony Greig commented that the West Indies tend to do badly under pressure and that 'we'll make them grovel'. This comment, especially as it came from a South African born player, touched a raw nerve of the West Indians. Throughout the series, the English batsmen were subjected to some very hostile bowling. After the first two Tests ended in draws, West Indies won the next three. Of the many heroes for West Indies, Richards stood out with 829 runs in four Tests. He hit 232 at Trent Bridge and 291 at the Oval. Greenidge scored three hundreds, two of which were on the difficult wicket at Old Trafford. Roberts and Holding shared 55 wickets between them, Holding's 8 for 92 and 6 for 57 on the dead wicket at the Oval being a superlative effort.
Packer years
West Indies won a home series against a tough Pakistan side in 1976-77. A few months later, the World Series Cricket (WSC) controversy broke out. Most of the West Indian players signed up with Kerry Packer. The Australian team that toured West Indies the next year included no Packer players, but West Indies Cricket Board fielded a full strength team under the argument that none of the West Indies players had refused to play. But disputes arose in the matter of payment and about the selection of certain players. Before the third Test, Lloyd resigned his captaincy. Within two days all the other WSC contracted players also withdrew. Alvin Kallicharran captained the team for the remaining Tests.
WICB allowed the WSC players to appear in the 1979 World Cup. West Indies retained the title with little difficulty. By the end of 1979, the WSC disputes were resolved. Kallicharran was deposed and Lloyd returned as captain.
West Indies toured New Zealand in the same season in a series that saw many controversies. New Zealand won the first Test at Dunedin by one wicket but West Indies were never happy with the umpiring. West Indies discontent boiled over the next Test at Christchurch. While running into bowl, Colin Croft deliberately shouldered the umpire Fred Goodall. When Goodall went to talk to Lloyd about Croft's behaviour, he had to walk all the way too meet the West Indian captain, as the latter did not move an inch from his position at the slips. After tea on the third day, West Indies refused to take the field unless Goodall was removed. They were persuaded to continue and it took intense negotiations between the two boards to keep the tour on track.
The 1980s
The seventies had started and ended with defeats, but it was 15 years before West Indies again lost another Test series. In 27 Test matches between 1982 and 1985, they remained unbeaten; they won 11 Tests in a row during that sequence. The team came to be regarded as one of the all time great teams, on par with Don Bradman's Invincibles and later, the Australian team of early 2000s.
In early 1983, a West Indian rebel team toured South Africa. It was led by Lawrence Rowe and included prominent players like Alvin Kallicharran, Colin Croft, Collis King and Sylvester Clarke. WICB banned the players for life (which was later revoked), and some were refused entry back home. However, the rebels managed another tour the next year which included most of the players of the original team.
A major setback around this time was the defeat to India in the final of the 1983 Cricket World Cup. Before the year was out, West Indies had the revenge defeating India 3-0 in a Test series and 5-0 in the one day series that went with it.
After the series in India, West Indies hosted Australia which was weakened by the retirement of some of their prominent players. Australia managed to draw the first two Tests with some difficulty but were blown away in the next three. This was followed by the 1984 tour of England which West Indies won 5-0. It was the first time in sixty years that England was beaten in every match of a series and it went down in history as the blackwash series. At Leeds, Malcolm Marshall, who had fractured his left hand, came out and batted with one hand to secure a vital first innings lead. He followed this by taking 7 for 53, bowling with his left hand in a bandage. Gordon Greenidge scored two double hundreds in the series and at times even West Indian tailenders had fun at the expense of English bowlers. In a Texaco Trophy one day match which was part of the series, Richards set a new world record by scoring 189 not out.
Having won eight matches in a row, West Indies travelled to Australia and extended it to eleven. By the end of the second Test, Australian had lost their captain Kim Hughes who resigned. West Indies nearly won the fourth Test which ended with Australia eight wickets down, but unexpectedly lost the final Test by an innings. West Indies bowlers gave away the advantage by bowling short on a slowish wicket and when West Indies batted Australian spinners bowled them out twice. Lloyd retired from Test cricket at the end of the series. He captained West Indies in a record 74 Test matches, winning 36 of them.
Vivian Richards was the natural successor to Lloyd. The England team that toured West Indies in 1985-86 was supposed to be much stronger than the one that lost in 1984. Their South African rebels had since returned and England had regained the Ashes a few months previously. But the series turned out be even more of a rout, West Indies winning 5-0 again. In his home ground in Antigua, Richards scored a hundred in 56 balls, the fastest ever in Tests. England fared little better when West Indies toured in 1988 , losing 4-0. Marshall took 35 wickets, a record in the matches between the two teams. It was only Pakistan who fought West Indies on something like level terms. Three successsive series between the two teams ended in 1-1 draws.
Meanwhile a change of old guard was also happening. Joel Garner and Michael Holding had retired by 1987. A major find was Curtly Ambrose who was a tall as Garner and even better bowler. Courtney Walsh who made his first appearance in 1984 bowled with an action that resembled Holding. Ian Bishop also had a similar action, and was as good a bowler till injuries interrupted his career. Patrick Patterson was faster than all the rest, but had a short career. Marshall still was the finest fast bowler in the world. It was batting that was beginning to show signs of weakness.
When West Indies failed in the 1986-87 World Series Cup, it was only the second time (after the 1983 World Cup) that they had to failed a one day tournament or series that they took part in. They also failed to qualify for the semifinal of the 1987 World Cup.
By the end of the eighties West Indies had come a long way down. While still the best team in the world, they had lost the aura of invincibility that they had till the middle of the decade. Finding good replacements for senior players was again becoming a problem. This reached disastrous proportions in the years to follow.
1990s
It was five more years before West Indies lost a series, but they had a number of close shaves. South Africa on their comeback played its first Test match in Bridgetown, a match which was attended by less than 10,000 people because of a boycott. Needing 201 to win on the last day, South Africa reached 123 for 2 before Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh took the remaining wickets for 25 runs. In 1992-93, West Indies defeated Australia by one run at Adelaide where a loss could have cost them the series. In 1992, West Indies once again failed to qualify for the World Cup semifinal.
For most of the nineties and afterwards, the West Indian batting was dominated by Brian Lara. He became a regular in the side after the retirement of Richards in 1991. Against England at Antigua 1993-94, he scored 375 and broke Sobers' world record for the highest individual score in Test cricket. He continued his fine form for Warwickshire and hit seven first class hundreds in eight innings. The last of these, scored on the fiftieth anniversary of the D-Day, was a 501 not out against Durham which improved upon Hanif Mohammad's thirty-five year old record as the highest score in first class cricket.
Australia finally defeated West Indies 2-1 in 1994-95 to become the unofficial world champions of Test cricket. The 1996 World Cup ended with a defeat in the semifinal which forced Richie Richardson who had taken over the captaincy from Richards in 1991, end his career in disgrace. West Indies made a landmark tour of South Africa in 1998-99. It ended in a disaster, starting with player revolts, and ending with a 0-5 defeat.
One of the few bright spots in this bleak period was a home series against Australia. West Indies were dismissed for 51, their lowest ever score, in the first Test. Lara hit 213 in the second to level the series. In the third, West Indies barely managed to avoid the follow on but Ambrose bowled Australia out for 146. Needing 308 to win, West Indies lost their fifth wicket at 105. From there, Lara played a magnificent innings of 153* and took West Indies to a one wicket win. Wisden rated Lara's innings as the second best ever Tests.
The 1999 World Cup campaign ended in the group stages. The next year, England won a series against West Indies for the first time in thirty-one years. West Indies ended the decade with another 0-5 defeat in Australia.
2000s
These were easily the worst days in West Indian cricket. Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, the latter after setting a new record of 519 wickets, were gone by 2001. The bowlers to follow had big shoes to fill, and ultimately, have not responded to nowhere near the level that Ambrose and Walsh have set. Despite the presence of some good batsmen like Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara still remained the crucial figure of the side.
After a slump in the late 1990s, Lara regained his touch but this seemed to make little difference to West Indies. The series in Sri Lanka was typical. Lara scored 688 runs, against Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, in three Tests; West Indies lost 0-3, two of them by ten wickets.
Carl Hooper captained the team in the 2003 World Cup after which he was sacked in favour of Lara. Lara himself was replaced by Chanderpaul in 2004. West Indies won the ICC Champions Trophy under him the same year.
A major dispute broke out in 2005 between the West Indian Players Association (WIPA) and the Cricket Board. The point of contention was the 'clause 5' of the tour contract which gave WICB the sole and exclusive right to arrange for sponsorship, advertising, licensing, merchandising and promotional activities relating to WICB or any WICB Team. Digicel were the sponsors of the West Indian Team while most of the players had contracts with Cable & Wireless. This and a payment dispute meant West Indies a second string side in the tour of Sri Lanka in 2005. As of August 2005, there is little sign of the issue getting resolved.
Statistics
Highest Test innings total
Home
Away
Lowest Test Innings total
Home
- 53 vs Pakistan Faisalabad, 1986-1987
Away
Highest individual Test innings
Home
- 400* Brian Lara vs England St. John's, 2003-2004
Away
- 291 Viv Richards vs England The Oval, 1976
Highest Wicket Stands
| Wicket | Total | Batsman | vs | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 298 | Gordon Greenidge / Desmond Haynes | England | St John's | 1989-1990 |
| 2nd | 446 | Conrad Hunte / Garry Sobers | Pakistan | Jamaica | 1957-1958 |
| 3rd | 338 | Everton Weekes / Frank Worrell | England | Port of Spain | 1953-1953 |
| 4th | 399 | Frank Worrell / Garry Sobers | England | Bridgetown | 1959-1960 |
| 5th | 322 | Brian Lara / Jimmy Adams | Australia | Kingston | 1998-1999 |
| 6th | 282* | Brian Lara / Ridley Jacobs | England | St. John's | 2003-2004 |
| 7th | 347 | Denis Atkinson / Clairmonte Depeiaza | Australia | Bridgetown | 1954-1955 |
| 8th | 148 | Jimmy Adams / Franklyn Rose | Zimbabwe | Kingston | 1999-2000 |
| 9th | 161 | Clive Lloyd / Andy Roberts | India | Calcutta | 1983-1984 |
| 10th § | 106 | Carl Hooper / Courtney Walsh | Pakistan | St John's | 1992-1993 |
Best bowling in an innings
Home
9-95, Jack Noreiga, vs India, Port of Spain, 1970 - 1971
Away
8-92 Michael Holding, vs England, The Oval, 1976
Best bowling in a match
Home
11-84 Curtly Ambrose, v England, Port of Spain, 1989 - 1990
Away
14-149 Michael Holding, v England, The Oval, 1976
Biggest win
Biggest defeat
See also
- List of West Indian Test cricketers
- 2007 Cricket World Cup - To be held in the Caribbean.
- West Indian national cricket captains
References
- 75 Years of West Indies Cricket 1928-2003 by Ray Goble and Keith AP Sandiford ISBN 1-870518-78-0
- A History of Australian Cricket by Chris Harte with Bernard Whimpress ISBN 0-233-05130-9
- WindiesCricket.com Official Website of the West Indies Cricket Board
- Cricinfo
- Cricket Archive
- Trinidad Guardian article on Learie Constantine
- World Series Cup controversy and the West Indies]
- The controversial 1979/80 tour of New Zealand
External link
- CaribbeanCricket.com Independent news/discussion site on West Indies cricket