The embarrassment of getting bowled out for a paltry 27 has shaken West Indies cricket with the board now in discussion with the legends who once made the Caribbean side among the best in the world. Chasing 204, West Indies were bowled out for 27 in the third Test against Australia to get whitewashed 3-0 in the series. In six innings of the three Test matches, West Indian batters could cross 250 just once with the 27 all out capping the horror batting performances from the Caribbean batsmen.
'India, Australia, England Take All Money': ICC Revenue Model Blamed For WI Decline
Chasing 204, West Indies were bowled out for 27 in the third Test against Australia to get whitewashed 3-0 in the series. In six innings of the three Test matches, West Indian batters could cross 250 just once with the 27 all out capping the horror batting performances from the Caribbean batsmen
Regarded as the most dominant team of the 70s and 80s, the Caribbean side is now in a free fall. Legendary Brian Lara and former England international David Llyod recently talked about what they felt were the reasons behind the fall of the Caribbean side.
"The big three, they take all the money. England, Australia, India take off the money. They get the big broadcast deals. You've got to have a more even distribution to allow West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka to complete," said Llyod blaming the revenue sharing model of the International Cricket Council.
Lara said that the rise of T20 leagues has not been in the interest of West Indies cricket. He said that T20 franchises poach the talent which the board nurtures, leaving the international scene with less quality players.
"We played first-class cricket and some of us even played county cricket to try to get into the West Indies team," Lara said. "We are now using the Western East team as a stepping stone, as a stage for us to get, you know, contracts around. And that is not a fault of the player."
Recently West Indies' top-ranked ODI batter and one of the best T20 players in the world, Nicholas Pooran retired from international cricket at the age of just 29. Some big names like Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard did not play for West Indies in their prime due to clashes with T20 leagues.
"Cricket West Indies, I really think a few heads should roll for this because they've made some decisions and this is the result of those decisions," Carl Hooper, the former West Indies skipper, said. "They've made some wholesale changes, massive changes, that I think wasn't needed. … To make wholesale changes and then get results like this, Cricket West Indies have got to hold up their hands and be held accountable."
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