Merry Christmas to all!
Do not consume too much of high-spirited liquids but please enjoy fully and be safe!
So, is all lost for West Indies as considered internationally, especially in Tests, after recent outright shambolic debacles and disappointments on tours of India and New Zealand?
Who knows, but it could be a very long haul, beginning next year, to repair West Indies' international Test standing.
"National Lampoon's Animal House" is that 1970's comedy classic, starring screen luminaries John Belushi, Karen Allen, Tim Matheson, Tom Hulce and Donald Sutherland.
After a series of outlandishly vile situations, Belushi, acting as John "Bluto" Blutarsky, first uttered those now fully immortal words: "When all else fails, start drinking heavily!"
Obviously, that suggestion should not be for West Indian cricketers but supporters are suffering terribly.
While enjoying the festive season, there should be serious in-depth introspections by the entire recently Test-toured senior West Indies contingent, to assess as to where exactly they are.
All may not be fully lost yet but after the last two Tests in New Zealand and those in India, one has to seriously worry about this Windies team.
In Test No 2 against New Zealand last week, Windies ignominiously lost its way to New Zealand's bowling, by an inning and 73 runs, in just two days and two sessions. What an embarrassment!
Utterings from head coach Ottis Gibson and manager Richie Richardson after the second Test versus New Zealand, were pointed, suggesting that there could have been serious problems in the camp on tour.
Had Gibson been a soccer manager, he would have lost his job ages ago, since Champions Trophy earlier this year.
One could only hope that when the festive season is complete, in the first week of January even, before the upcoming cricket season starts, that a real, not contrived assessment but a full public investigation, will be completed by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), as to what exactly went wrong on these recent tours to India and New Zealand.
One thing is certain, something is seriously wrong with the entire make-up of the senior team and its coaching structure, since none of our cricketers could boast of becoming any better.
Realising how West Indies cricket has worked over past years, always moving forward without obvious assessments of recent mine-fields, do not hold your breath but such an overview should be welcomed.
It is Christmas time, so one should be charitable but how does anyone who really cares about West Indies cricket interpret the absolute disgraceful garbage perpetuated on us from that other Down Under, New Zealand?
At time of writing this article, West Indies, even with expected exploits of Shivnarine Chanderpaul with another almost ubiquitous century, 122 not out, and as welcome a three-figure score as a wicket-keeper batsman could want, 107 from Denesh Ramdin in the first innings, had just succumbed to 103 all out in the second innings in the third Test, in just one session of batting, leaving NZ to get only 122 for a 2-0 series win.
Only Sunil Narine's efforts can stop that but that would be an unlikely Christmas miracle!
In the first innings in the third Test, West Indies were also 86-5, facing real fire, so those centuries from veterans Chanderpaul and Ramdin could not have come at a better time. Second time around was not so fortunate.
Much have been written about Chanderpaul and Ramdin, but they do continue to produce, mostly when desperately required, hoping to see their team-mates do similarly.
In both innings in the third Test, openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell gifting wickets away, while Kirk Edwards seemed so much at sea to swinging deliveries that he would not be out of place with the fisher-folk at Oistins, or with captains of luxurious yachts moored in the Carenage, in his native Barbados.
I hope that you had time to read, on ESPNcricinfo and Caribbeancricket.com, a magnificent comparison by former New Zealand ace batsman and captain Martin Crowe of West Indies exploits these last several years, and also touching on New Zealand, England and Australia too.
It was a good assessment of what it was like to face the now almost forgotten might of West Indies when Crowe was New Zealand's captain. He even managed to make light of having to change many under-garments as he, and team-mates, thought, and waited, to face Michael Holding, Joel Garner, myself, Andy Roberts etc, and according to him, the best of us all, Malcolm Marshall.
Thinking about it now, even after three decades, facing West Indies then must have been a chilling feeling.
Whenever I cover or look at cricket played by WI these days, a la versus New Zealand, it is obvious that, as was also described in "Animal House", WI cricket, at least on the Test field of play, has reached "a new low"!
Next year cannot come fast enough, as one must believe that the new year will be better. Enjoy the season!
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