Testing conditions for West Indians
With the first Test between England and the West Indies just hours away, Jonathan Agnew, writing on bbc.co.uk , says that West Indies’ players today lack the swagger on the field that their predecessors had in the 1980’s.
Carlyle Laurie
25-Feb-2013
With the first Test between England and the West Indies just hours away, Jonathan Agnew, writing on bbc.co.uk, says that West Indies’ players today lack the swagger on the field that their predecessors had in the 1980’s.
There was a time when Caribbean chaos had a certain charm about it - but not anymore. The game has moved on, and I can't see how the West Indies side will ever regain its swagger on the field until the administrators sort out their shambolic organisation off it.
That said, there have been some recent signs of improvement, with West Indies almost beating Australia last month. It needs perspective in that they have won only two Tests of the 30 they have played since Jerome Taylor routed England in Jamaica in 2009, but for those of us who love the unique beat, rhythm and character of West Indies cricket, it was at least a cause for optimism.