worst West Indies cricket team to tour NZ

The West Indies have tried to stay tight during their tour of New Zealand but have rarely performed like a united force on the field.

OPINION: The West Indies need to quickly find their T20 world championship status or risk being totally ridiculed.

Right now they must certainly carry the unwanted label of being the worst Windies side to tour New Zealand, having suffered whitewashes in both the test and one-day series.

As much as New Zealand cricket fans like to rejoice in the success of the Black Caps, their performances must be measured against their opposition and it's hard to argue against this West Indies outfit being simply woeful.
Chadwick Walton's struggles in Christchurch reflected the perforamnce of his West Indies team.
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Chadwick Walton's struggles in Christchurch reflected the perforamnce of his West Indies team.

It's hard to take pleasure in victories against a team that is this bad.

They are an embarrassment to the great Windies teams of the past that used to strike fear into opponents with a mix of brutal fast bowling and blazing bats.


The Black Caps need to carry their hot form into the T20s against the Windies and continue that for the white ball action against Pakistan.

The long and painful decline of the Caribbean game has been well documented, though their fall has often been arrested by some spectacular results against the run of play.

We have waited for them to rebound like they did on their disastrous mid-year tour of England with a reversal of fortunes in the test series after being smashed in the opener.

Alas, it never eventuated.

Their performance graph in New Zealand has been on a steady downward spiral

Now they have three T20s to make amends.

But even the uncertain nature of the shortest format of the game and the fact that the West Indies won the last T20 World Cup in 2016, can't offer much confidence that will happen.

This is a team that has been pulverised and their players look disinterested.

It's easy to hit a team that is down but these players should hang their heads in shame while former greats hang their heads in sorrow.

The ongoing problems continue to hurt though rarely shock even the proudest of Windies players, such is the regularity of losses these days.

Take Curtly Ambrose for example. The former skipper and fearsome pace bowler had this to say about them earlier in the year.

"I was with the team for two years as bowling coach and we tried to educate them about our heritage. I talked about the pride and passion in representing the region and our people.

"I could talk to them all day but once they stepped over that rope they were on their own and if they were not prepared to listen, it was simply a waste of time. It does hurt. And it has reached a point where it is very embarrassing."

Pakistan arrive in the country soon for five ODIs and three T20s. They can't get here quick enough really and that's saying something – it's not that long ago that we were tiring of the sight of the Pakistan team who seemed to be ever-present tourists in our cricketing summers.

But on the back of their 2017 Champions Trophy success, Pakistan can be considered genuine opponents when compared to the Windies and a team that should prove a handful for the Black Caps.

Pakistan are ranked one place below New Zealand at No 6 in the world ODI listings and top the T20 rankings where the Kiwis are third.

That sounds like the makings of a much-needed competitive white ball contest.

Given that England are due to be the final fare for our southern summer, Pakistan now appear to be the main course, because who knows what shape the English will be in by the time they arrive from their own horror show across the Tasman.

- Stuff

Right now they must certainly carry the unwanted label of being the worst Windies side to tour New Zealand, having suffered whitewashes in both the test and one-day series.