On July 28, 2035, Australia thoroughly undermined the notion that Limited Over Cricket (LOC) is the strong suit of West Indies by completing a whitewash in the 5-game series. None of Australia’s wins were close. In the Third T20I, they comfortably scored 215 runs with 6 wickets and nearly 4 overs in hand, with Tim David completing a stunning century in 37 balls.
For me, this was a demoralizing outcome, especially after an underwhelming performance by W.I in the Test series, in which they mustered the second lowest innings score in history (27 runs) in the third and final Test.
No player in team sport loves failure. This would be as true for the New Zealand team which holds the record for the lowest Test innings score—26 runs against England in 1955—as for the W.I team that barely escaped that ignominy at Sabina Park.
In the Test series, W.I were humiliated by a full-strength and vastly experienced Australia team. Five of Australia’s 6 top-order batsmen averaged 30-plus runs, with 3 averaging more than 40 and one (Steve Smith) with an average of over 50. By contrast, Kraig Brathwaite was the only W.I batsman with a Test average of over 30 runs.
On paper, the difference among the bowlers was just as stark (pun intended). The Sabina Park Test was Mitchell Starc’s 100th. Alzarri Joseph was W.I’s most experienced bowler, having played 40 Tests. Yet, he along with Shamar Joseph, Jadyn Seales and Justin Greaves bagged 56 wickets, to dismiss Australia six times for under 300 runs. By any measure, this was a laudable bowling performance. If only West Indies batsmen had emulated the performances of their bowlers.
After this Series, it’s fair to wonder whether W.I cricket has a future in any format of the game. Some fans believe the team should take a break from Tests to focus on LOCs, rebuild regional cricket and identify and nurture talented cricketers.
Presently, the International Cricket Council (ICC) ranks W.I, 8th in Tests,10th in ODIs, and 6th in T20Is. The ICC is reportedly considering introducing a system of promotion and relegation between two Test divisions, with Australia, England, India, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in division one, and Ireland, Afghanistan, Bangladesh Pakistan, W.I and Zimbabwe in division two. While this system has merit, it won’t matter if West Indies does not address its many failings. If business continues as usual, all I can see is endless torment and misery for W.I cricket fans.
I’m in no doubt that what ails our cricket is chronic maladministration at all levels. I do not expect W.I cricket to rise from the abyss with Board decisions and a selection policy that defies logic.
The norm in international cricket is that teams are selected based on recent form and experience. The fact that most W.I batsmen performed well in regional cricket, yet performed miserably against Australia, can only mean that the quality of our domestic and regional cricket is way below international standards.
Consider these two examples.
In the 2025 regional cricket season, Brathwaite scored 393 runs, including 212 runs in his first match. Between then and the first Test against Australia, he failed to score 50 runs in 16 first-class innings. Ten of his 14 dismissals were for single-digit scores. Did the selectors miss this, or did they expect he would regain form against one of the most lethal bowling attacks in international cricket? Expectedly, he was dropped after posting scores of 4, 4, 0 and 7 in the first 2 Tests against Australia. Meanwhile, the top 3 batsmen in regional cricket in 2025 were Jason Mohammed (679 runs), Joshua Da Silva (583 runs) and Jamar Hamilton (573 runs). Mohammed may have missed out because of his age. If age is a factor in selecting the regional team, why is it not a factor in selecting national teams? It’s unclear why Da Silva and Hamilton were ignored.
Jomel Warrican deserved his pick after securing the “Player of the Series Award” and the ICC’s “Player of the Month” (January 2025), for his 19 wickets that gave W.I a historic 1-1 series result against Pakistan. However, he failed to impress against Australia. Meanwhile, Khary Pierre, who took the most wickets in regional cricket in 2025, was not selected for either the Tests or T20Is.
Many blame restrictions on the number of foreign cricketers in English county cricket for the decline in W.I cricket. It’s true that this policy deprived our cricketers of regular high-level exposure, professional income and year-round experience in varied conditions. However, all cricket nations (including England!) were impacted by this policy, yet the fortunes of these countries did not decline as sharply as West Indies. Indeed, many outstanding second and third tier W.I cricketers did not play county cricket.
During the heyday of W.I cricket, there were very few, if any, formal coaches. Yet, W.I produced an army of talented cricketers. Consider that While Clive Lloyd’s team was dominating world cricket, super-talented, players like Lawrence Rowe, Richard Austin, Sylvester Clarke, Colin Croft, Alvin Kallicharran and Franklyn Stephenson were playing for the “Rebel” W.I team in South Africa.
England’s Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes receive central contracts with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) with fees ranging between US$175,000 and US$1.1 million annually. In addition, they receive US$16,000 per Test, US$6,700 per ODI and US$4,700 per T20I. By contrast, West Indies cricketers on central contracts earn between US$100,000 and $150,000 annually, plus US$5000 per Test.
However, franchise cricket is a different story. Buttler earned US$2 million for playing in the 2025 IPL season. Sunil Narine has earned over US$15 million playing in the IPL alone. It’s unreasonable to expect talented W.I cricketers to forgo these potential earnings. Still, I feel quite strongly they should not be given priority when W.I teams are selected. If this isn’t done, what would motivate young talented cricket players to represent W.I?