It is extremely unlikely that the average cricket fan in the West Indies has a high opinion of the cricket board. Disputes with the CWI that have threatened to disrupt tours go back to 1998 (the board was then known as the WICB) when the team threatened to abandon a tour to South Africa due to a dispute over payment. Pay disputes have resurfaced regularly since then, causing weakened teams to be fielded during the 2005 and 2009 against South Africa and Bangladesh respectively. The most drastic action came in 2014, when West Indies abandoned their tour of India in 2014 after playing four ODIs with the ODI series still underway and the Test series to come.
While this drastic action should have served as a wakeup call – albeit a long overdue one – that change was needed, the board continued to attempt to force an unaltered contract upon the players with no negotiation over the payment dispute. This led to many players accepting the contract in order to play in the T20 Cricket World Cup, since they did not want to miss out on such a tournament. West Indies would go on to win the tournament and immediately after the win, then-captain Darren Sammy blasted the board for disrespect of the players.
Since that tournament, major stars such as Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle and Darren Sammy have not played for the West Indies in ODIs due to the CWI’s rule that players must play in the regional tournament to be considered for selection. This is a major sticking point, as the West Indian regional season clashes with the IPL where many West Indies cricketers play for a much higher salary than they would get playing in the Caribbean. It would be irresponsible of them to trade in this higher salary to play in the West Indies and the idea that they should do so to represent their regional team is ridiculous.
There is little incentive for players to play for the West Indies, especially considering the issues with payment and the inflexibility of the board. The fans are facing the prospect of watching their team having to qualify for the 2019 Cricket World Cup since they are now ranked 9th in the ODI table just ahead of Afghanistan. They have already seen the team miss out on the recently concluded Champions Trophy, a tournament they won in 2004 and reached the final in 2006.
The talent is present and will continue to be available. The West Indies won the Under-19 World Cup last year and it is clear, despite being one of the poorer Test cricketing regions, that the quality of players is not lacking. The quality of administration, however, is far below the standard needed to raise West Indies cricket.