ABSENT FRIENDS: ARE WEST INDIES TURNING INTO A GALLERY OF PAST LEGENDS?

Joti Birdi speaks to captain Jason Holder about what can be done for West Indies cricket

When one-day international cricket began, West Indies were kings. They won the first two World Cups, in 1975 and 1979, and even as late as 2004 – in The Oval gloom – they pickpocketed England to win the Champions Trophy. Inspired by Chris Gayle’s runs, West Indies reached the final of the 2006 event, too.

That they are not in England, 11 years later, is enough to make their fans weep. Cricket’s absent friends are now in danger of becoming a team where we speak only of their past legends. The eighth ICC Champions Trophy will take place without West Indies for the first time, after Bangladesh and Pakistan both edged them out of the ODI rankings by the cut-off point of September 2015.

West Indies’ absence can be put down to a catalogue of reasons – including flawed administration, conflicts over contracts, and inequality over pay leading to a period of player hostility towards the West Indies Cricket Board. Highly talented players well adjusted to modern short-form demands have sought lucrative contracts in franchise T20, such as the Big Bash and the IPL, in order to financially sustain themselves, as well as top up their experience.

Many observers have concluded that West Indies’ triumphs in the 2012 and 2016 World T20s came despite, rather than because of, the West Indian system. And yet, the WICB cannot be doing everything wrong, as 2016 alone witnessed a hat-trick of ICC major tournament triumphs, with the women’s side winning the World T20, and the Under-19 males their own World Cup.

The financial cost to the WICB by not participating in the ICC Champions Trophy coud be high, missing out on a potential $2.2m available in prize money to the winners. The WICB will receive $132m from the ICC’s round of revenue distributions for the 2015–2023 media rights – the same as most other ICC Full Members. But Caribbean cricket is financially poor compared to the nations West Indies once competed against in Test cricket. Facilities are not as up to standard compared to other countries.

The lack of resources takes away what players can get out of a session, in the view of Jason Holder who, as Test and one-day captain does not often get to lead the T20 superstars. He  pointed to the lack of experience of current senior players when exposed to certain pitches and bowling techniques at international level.

Often accused of mismanaging situations, the WICB’s lack of diplomacy has alienated not just players but supporters. Draconian rules over selection – they insist players must play domestic one-day cricket in order to make the ODI side – have prevented players like Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle from being selected at times. Dave Cameron, the WICB president, angered Gayle with his tweets during the 2015 World Cup, while Darren Bravo has recently filed a lawsuit against the board, claiming lost earnings of around $120,000.

It is often said that West Indian cricket is under threat from American sports and athletics, given the rising influence of the neighbouring United States. Experts are split on this. But it must be a worry that few national icons are involved in international series outside of major tournaments.

“We can only control the cricket we play,” Holder told The Cricketer. “Joint victories in the T20 as well as the Under-19s World Cup highlights the resurgence and will-power to succeed. If we do represent our country at our best, it will only encourage youngsters to join and respectively show an interest.”

Describing the culture of the team since inheriting the captaincy in late 2014, after Dwayne Bravo oversaw the premature return of the team from India because of a pay dispute, Holder highlighted the importance of earning his players trust and developing relationships. “Getting to know players' ins and outs and ensuring they gel as a unit, pushing forward towards the same goal. In the past the struggle between players and the board with peripheral details has hampered the progress and success of the players.” The attitude Holder has tried to enforce has been to focus the players on playing cricket, and avoid arguments and clashes with the board.

Club cricket is still played, however players report that youngsters are becoming increasingly disheartened by sub-standard pitches and outfields. The recent work undertaken by the ECB in travelling to the West Indies, promoting cricket, training individuals in Level 3 qualifications could be part of the solution; ensuring facilities and resources are up to scratch is another.

The privately-financed Caribbean Premier League, the T20 pinnacle in the region, has welcomed domestic support, with reasonably-priced individual and family tickets and school groups invited to attend. In stark contrast, the recent ODI series at home to England highlighted the problems in West Indies cricket. With West Indies already out of the Champions Trophy, they were again picking from a weakened side. Resting upon tourist revenue, local supporters were alienated with ticket prices set at US$75 ($150 Barbadian) it was hardly surprising that the ground was full of mainly English tourists. With an economy heavily hit by the recession and relying on imported goods, many locals simply cannot afford it.

Perhaps, in this age of mammon, a relatively poor region were always destined to fall off their perch. As Gideon Haigh said in The Economist last year: “It is remarkable that a region so small, disunited and generally disadvantaged should have bossed the cricket world for so long.”