ICC must help Windies
West Indies Cricket needs support from everyone.
By Vimal Kumar

Disaster after disaster. Humiliating defeats after mediocrity. This is the common feature of the present West Indies Cricket, which is not only devastating for the cricket loving Caribbean public but also for others, who have high respect for once-mighty of the game.

Everybody is shocked to see the abysmal level of cricket played by the present bunch and if this state of performances continues, then the sheer popularity of the game will suffer at the hands of the Windies themselves, who were once the King of the game. Their domination was such that nobody could imagine cricket without them. It was due to their dare-devilry, their flair and their arrogance that the game’s popularity flourished. The game would be poorer indeed if it loses the flair of West Indies. 

There was a time in the 80’s when drawing a Test against the Windies was considered as an excellent performance, leave alone winning. And now things have deteriorated in such a fashion that nobody is taking them seriously. Ironically a cruel transformation. They are being mocked and ridiculed by even the weaker Test playing nations. It is depressing to see how drastically things have changed for them and the Windies are realizing it a bit too late. Now, one can only hope that their good days return soon and in this regard ICC should bale them out from the tough time they're facing.

To save the tarnishing image of the Windies, it is much required from the International Cricket Council to intervene and save the beleaguered Caribbean’s. ICC must address the basic problems currently being faced by WICB. The West Indies Cricket Board is unable to spend much on their infrastructure and the diminishing level of cricket shows it. The youngsters in West Indies are opting for more lucrative sports like Basketball and Baseball. The invasion of American sports has further damaged the popularity of cricket.

Instead of wasting money in the name of globalization, ICC should try to lift the standard of current Test playing nations. Not only  West Indies but  Zimbabwe’s performance is also not very encouraging. Money is also a big factor in Zimbabwe cricket. What is the use of spreading the game into other countries when some of the present teams are struggling hard to survive?

ICC must realize that the shattering defeats of West Indies are not only West Indies woe but in a way, it also doesn’t augur well for the game of cricket. Currently, West Indies is the only team to play a five-Test match series either in Australia or England. It speaks volume on the importance of this team. Perhaps, it is high time that the ICC starts some serious thinking and takes some radical measures to boost up the game of cricket, which is the only game to be played in each and every Caribbean Island, thereby uniting different nations to formulate a common team called the  
'West Indies’