A series best forgotten

Although England completed a 3-0 rout of West Indies at Chester-le-Street, the reaction in the media in the UK has been low-key, perhaps a reflection on the weakness of the tourists and an acceptance that India will be a completely different proposition.

Indeed, it’s West Indies that are the subject of much of the attention. In The Guardian, David Hopps writes:-

This has been an unmemorable, one-sided series in which a West Indies side disinclined to recognise the demands of the modern age have been predictably despatched. Perhaps it will goad them into rectifying their faults to know that the old colonial power, awash with condescension, is desperate for them to get their act together.

In the same paper Mike Selvey welcomes the end of the series, saying neither side emerged with much credit:-

It brought to an end quite the most drab, dismal, lacklustre, bland, interminable, uninspiring series in recent memory, with the general standard of play all too often plumbing the depths of acceptability for international cricket - and not all of it from the visitors either.

Shorn of its colour, the contest instead has been played out in widows' weeds to a soundtrack of volcanic grumbling from Sir Vivian Richards, who has been close to eruption about the level to which his once proud side have sunk. You would not, were you a West Indian cricketer of the current generation who valued his wellbeing, wish to cross Richards' path at present.

In The Independent, veteran broadcaster and journalist Tony Cozier was depressed but far from surprised:-

As disappointing as it has been, as embarrassingly mediocre as much of their cricket has been, the latest West Indies débâcle has come as no surprise. What is unacceptable is that standards have not improved one iota since England first asserted their superiority over their previous persecutors. The indiscipline, the lack of commitment and the inclination to fold at the first hint of resistance or aggression from the other side were again repeatedly exposed, as they were in each of the previous three series against their oldest opponents.

The disconcerting reality is that there is no quick way out. Sizeable investment in currently minimal facilities and the introduction of a domestic professional league to take the place of county cricket are urgently required to nurture available talent and retain public enthusiasm, understandably waning with every depressing defeat.

The newspaper reaction in the Caribbean has been muted, perhaps a reflection on the declining importance of the game in the region. That is underlined by an article in Jamaica’s Gleaner. On the day of a Test defeat, they carry an interview with Jack Warner, no role model himself, but the leading football administrator in the region. He says:-

"Many of them [governments] also too are still locked in a time warp of colonialism where they believe that cricket is the answer. I make no apologies for saying to you that cricket, as presently organised, is a dying sport and cricket has to revitalise itself and certain things have to be done to save cricket and governments can't save cricket by building fancy stadia all over the place which they can't maintain and which they say of course that football can use. It is foolish."

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