by “The typical West Indies fan is a jaded fan, jaded, beaten, worn out fan, who are really at the point where I would say they are looking for something that will bring joy and happiness from a cricket perspective,” says Daren Ganga, former West Indies cricketer. “When the West Indies play, yes, there’s that regional pride, there’s that spirit and the will to win, but their expectations are down. A victory of any kind is celebrated in great style, because it is a rare occasion.”
If England fans are feeling down in the dumps about their team’s recent travels on the white ball, they should consider their next opponent, as the past few years have been very bleak for the West Indies.
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They finished ninth out of 10 teams at the 2019 World Cup, performed admirably at the 2021 T20 World Cup and even worse in 2022, and failed to even qualify for this year’s 50-over edition. Of 15 Test series since the start of 2019 they have won four, only beating the bottom two teams in the current ICC rankings, Bangladesh (twice) and Zimbabwe, and England on their last visit in 2022.
There are signs of recovery but there is also persistent discontent, and despite West Indies Cricket’s efforts to mend relations with senior players some are still under pressure. Central contracts are not very generous, which has led to some falling apart – last year Sunil Narine was left out of the World Cup squad, and chief selector Desmond Haynes explained that he “didn’t seem interested”. “Gone are those days when you played for love. Love doesn’t buy you groceries,” said Darren Sammy, who is now a white-ball coach.
Darren Bravo, who was also the tournament’s top scorer, captained Trinidad and Tobago to victory in the West Indies’ home 50-over Super50 Cup last month. When he was left out of the squad for the one-day international series against England that starts on Sunday, his brother, former West Indies captain Dwayne, posted a furious response on Instagram. “I usually stay away from these discussions, but the disrespect, disrespect and dishonesty towards players over the years calls for a voice,” he wrote. “When will this BS really stop?” The post has been liked almost 100,000 times, including a recent string of current and international seniors.
Darren Bravo is 34, and while there is some inconsistency – Kjorn Ottley, who turns 34 next week and has only played two ODIs, is in the squad – he is a victim of a tactical decision to focus on younger players. “The white ball team is very much in transition,” says Ganga. “I don’t think it’s about trying to throw out players who are over 30 but they are giving more opportunities to players who haven’t had much of a chance.” Alick Athanaze, the current leading scorer at the 2018 U-19 World Cup who finally broke into the Senior Test and ODI teams this year, is leading this new generation.
In 2020 an independent report on the CWI’s finances revealed that there was a “huge hole” in the organisation’s finances. Running the game across a diverse group of islands presents unique challenges, including flying players between fixtures and putting them up in the region’s unusually expensive hotels, not just for international competitors but for all domestic competitions.
But financial stability has come in the years since, and next summer’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in the West Indies in association with the USA, is getting a further boost. Crucially, India, which brings not only fans but the promise of lucrative broadcast deals, and England, with their army of traveling supporters, toured the region in 2022 and 2023, the latter returning this November next.
“The ECB’s business model is fundamentally based on support from the host broadcaster, Sky Sports. Outside of the ICC distributions ours is based on the tours of England and India and by having them last year and again this year, we have been able to repair the balance sheet,” says Johnny Grave, CWI chief executive and formerly of Surrey. and the Association of Professional Cricketers. “The financial woes of the organization have always been a heavy burden, but after two very strong years we have very little debt, and we are predicting a good year with the T20 World Cup.”
CWI now owns the Coolidge Ground, a 20-acre site near Antigua’s international airport, and last year established an academy and training facility there, offering players organized pathways to the A-List and world-class tournaments. The women’s academy continued this year. The Caribbean Premier League, a Twenty20 franchise competition in which every team is now Indian-owned, continues to thrive – Ganga describes it as “the umbilical cord that connected the West Indies talent pool in T20 cricket to the international side”.
Next year’s World Cup will be an opportunity to fill the board’s coffers and show the team’s renewal. “It’s our chance to show the world that this is still the best place to watch and play cricket, and the most fun,” says Graves. “Fans can enjoy Caribbean hospitality and a unique stadium atmosphere, and the cricket will be exciting and intense. We are focused on repairing the brand and giving our long-suffering fans something to shout and cheer about. We’ve been beaten by everyone in the world in T20 cricket at home in recent years, and we want to win it.”
