After another crushing defeat to Australia, this time by 419 runs, you would think West Indies could not fall much lower. Former Test skipper Carl Hooper though said otherwise on Sunday.
Speaking on ABC Radio, a brutally honest Hooper warned this is not even “rock bottom” for the nation, admitting he was “hurt” by what he saw from the West Indies in Adelaide.
“I don’t think we’ve hit rock bottom because every time I think we have, we keep going lower,” Hooper said.
“It’s getting more and more embarrassing. I’m hurt today. I’ve never played in a West Indies side that has been bowled out for under 100. Just never.
“I mean your personal pride means you go out and fight. We’re not fighting to qualify in major tournaments. How much lower can we go?”
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An injury crisis certainly did not help the West Indies, who showed promising signs in the first Test at Perth, putting up a fight to take it to a fifth day before going down by 164 runs.
This time around was different though.
In Adelaide they were completely outclassed, dismissed for just 77 in their second innings to crash by a huge 419 runs.
“Bad days happen and bad games, and obviously this was a bad game for us, but it’s not the end of the world,” West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite said.
If you asked Hooper though, this was not just one bad loss. It was more than that. It was emblematic of deeper problems which he believes starts with the administration.
“Since 1993 we’ve struggled and certainly judging from the results, there’s no policies or systems that have been implemented that is changing the downwards course we’re on,” he said on ABC Radio.
“We’ve changed captains, we’ve changed personnel, we’ve changed coaches… [it] hasn’t worked.
“So maybe let’s go a little bit higher and get people in these positions that can lead us in the right direction.”
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It was not just Hooper, with Australian cricket great Simon O’Donnell also revealing his fear for the future of West Indian cricket while speaking on SEN Breakfast on Monday morning.
“I really fear for West Indies cricket from what we’ve just seen,” he said.
“I just don’t see the enthusiasm. It was really interesting listening to Phil Simmons and he was so upbeat about the pride they take in their performance. I didn’t see it.
“They just absolutely rolled over. It just doesn’t smell right to me.
“Let’s hope they can turn it around because they’ve been an integral part and an exciting part of the international cricket scene for a long time, but I really have fears.
“No sponsor on their shirt. Two or three guys came out without a sponsor on their bat. It’s real danger time for their existence as an international cricketing nation, I think.”
West Indies now ranks eighth in the world in the Test format, 10th in ODIs and seventh in T20s, a far cry from the cricket powerhouse it once was.
There was a 10-wicket win over England in the third and final Test match earlier this year though, proof that there is still talent for West Indies to work with when its squad is healthy.
But according to former Australian Test captain Michael Clarke, it should not be left to West Indies alone to restore its position in the cricket world anyway.
Rather, speaking on Sky Sports’ ‘Big Sports Breakfast’, Clarke argued that other countries such as Australia, England and India could help by taking more games to the West Indies.
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“If we say no to West Indies then why would India play West Indies or why is England going to play West Indies?” he asked.
“This has been the problem with a lot of the stuff over the last 10 or 15 years, it’s like the higher-ranked teams are getting looked after and the rest are getting thrown away or Australia and England play more games against India and make more money but these other teams can’t do it. As soon as we go that way, there’ll only be three teams playing Test cricket.
“Does it make a difference if you play in their backyard? I don’t think West Indies make any money or not much coming to Australia. They make their money when Australia goes to the West Indies.
“Could there be more of that for example? Even if you brought West Indies to Australia a little bit less, just using West Indies as a team, but still Australia still commits to going to their country and you could say the same about Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe. The big teams — Australia, England, India — where your money is made, maybe more responsibility from them committing to still going to these other countries to play but then we’re a bit more selective with who comes to Australia.
“They need the money so we’ve got to keep giving, we might just have to be more selective with our taking.”
Further to that, Clarke also said the International Cricket Council (ICC) could play a greater role by directing more of its funds into helping with any financial troubles West Indies may face — now and into the future.
“I don’t know why we’re seeing the West Indies continue to decline. I don’t know the answer to that but I’d imagine their structure and set-up from a young age, that development period, is not what it used to be,” Clarke added.
“If that’s where money needs to be put to help West Indies cricket, I think they need to do that. It is the ICC, we’re talking about a billion-dollar business here. It’s the ICC’s responsibility. If they went to India because they need some money or need something, I think they would do that, I think the BCII would help grow the game.”
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Speaking to media after the defeat in the second Test, Braithwaite said the young West Indies team would draw on its time in Australia as a valuable learning experience for future games.
“I think as a group we have the talent, we have the ability,” he said.
“We just have to believe in ourselves and go forward and get better as a Test team. A lot of the guys it’s their first time to Australia and I think the experience will help, both as batsmen and as bowlers.
“Seeing how Australia play, how their batsmen started their innings. We can learn from that. And then their bowlers, they can bowl through the whole day and you see the areas that they bowl. It’s stuff that they are going to learn from.”
