No one cares about West Indies cricket anymore

There was a time, long ago, when the West Indies cricket team really mattered to me.

As a youngster growing up in Nottingham, there wasn’t much we had to shout about. In any discussion, arena, and sporting forum long before the internet took off, the West Indies were a source of immense pride.

In recent years, since my father passed, I find myself watching less and less. So much so, that I don’t even reach for the scores anymore.

The constant, silly belief that the Caribbean region can claw its way back to the top. The laughable suggestions that a bunch of old politicians and administrators know what’s best for the game.

Maybe I don’t follow many games because I’m not a fan of the bash it T20 format, and it hurts to see how under prepared our youngsters are at Test level.

Yet really, how has it come to this – a woeful, revolving merry-go-round of mediocrity, where an average coach gets to “rehabilitate” a struggling team.

No offence Stuart Law, who is now the third Aussie to try his hand at being the head coach of the West Indies, but questionably short stints coaching Sri Lanka and Bangladesh don’t qualify you for one of the toughest jobs in world cricket.

Certainly not any more than Phil Simmons, the venerable Trinidadian allrounder and last incumbent of the head coaching job. All of Simmons’ years coaching an overachieving Ireland, his knowledge of the region, and his ability as a motivating coach, suggested he was the right man for the job. But then again, I thought Otis Gibson would have been given longer.
theroar.com.au