5 landmark matches that led to west indies’ test downfall

India is set to play West Indies in the first Test on 21 July. And unfortunately, the Indians are expected to sweep their opponents without much trouble. But if the Indian team were

embarking for a series to the Caribbean 30-35 years back, there would have been nervous in the team and in the hearts of Indian cricket fans. Because they would be gearing up to face one of

the greatest cricket sides of all time. Back then, the West Indies team had it all. They had the best bowling attack in Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner; the

best opening pair in Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes, and legends like Vivian Richards and Clive Lloyd in their team. They won every Test series between 1980 and 1995. But once the

Australians beat West Indies in their den in 1995, the Caribbean side spiralled down. Since then, they have failed to beat a big team away from home and their last series win against a big

team was achieved in 2009, when they beat England 1-0. What happened to the best team in the world? How did the cricket talent dry up in the Caribbean? THE QUINT takes a look at the five

landmark matches which traces the rise and fall of West Indies in Tests. 1. AUSTRALIA VS WEST INDIES, 6TH TEST, 1976 The West Indies team were thrashed and badgered 5-1 in the gruelling

six-match Test series against Australia in 1976. Even though Clive Llyod’s team had the likes of Holding, Richards and Alvin Kallicharran, the team just couldn’t compete with the Australian

team. They were beaten by seven and above wickets in three matches and by over 160 runs in two other matches. The Australian opening bowlers Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson terrorised the

West Indies batting line-up with their sheer pace and accuracy. The Baggy Greens hit the final nail on the coffin after beating the Caribbeans by 165 runs in the sixth Test at the Melbourne

Cricket Ground. 2. AUSTRALIA VS WEST INDIES, 3RD TEST, 1980 Even though West Indies team was beaten terribly by Australia in 1976, they understood the importance of being aggressive and

deployed it in their game. After the 1976 series, the Caribbeans formed a potent fast bowling attack and started having success in every country they visited. They beat England away and were

victorious against Pakistan and Australia at home. But the final frontier was the series down under. This time, the West Indians gave the Australians a dose of their own medicine. The fast

bowlers on the tour, Sir Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Colin Croft and Joel Garner took pace bowling to another level and made life extremely difficult for the Australian batsmen. West

Indies won the second Test by 10 wickets and the third Test by 408 runs and clinched the series 2-0. The victory in the third Test marked West Indies’ dominance in Test cricket for several

years. 3. WEST INDIES VS AUSTRALIA, 4TH TEST, 1995 All good things come to an end and West Indies’ winning streak in Test series was put to an end by their old foes – Australia. After

winning every Test series for 15 years, the Caribbeans entered the fourth Test of the four-match series in West Indies in 1995 with the series being levelled at 1-1. Steve Waugh smashed a

double hundred and his twin brother Mark Waugh notched 126 which helped Australia attain a lead of 266 runs in the final Test of the series. Paul Reiffel and Shane Warne picked up four

wickets each in the second innings, which helped the Baggy Greens wrap up the West Indian batting line-up for 213. Australia won the match by an innings and 53 runs and clinched the series

2-1. 4. PAKISTAN VS WEST INDIES, 3RD TEST, 1997 The three-match Test series against Pakistan marked the start of West Indies’ downfall in Test cricket. Pakistan’s bowling attack which

included Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Azhar Mahmood, Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq, completely bamboozled the West Indies team. Even though they had a decent team in Brian Lara, Shivnarine

Chanderpaul, Ian Bishop and Courtney Walsh, West Indies went down 3-0 to Pakistan. The Caribbeans lost the third Test by ten wickets. 5. INDIA VS WEST INDIES, 4TH ODI, 2014 Apart from lack

of talent, the consistent tiffs between the players and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has also contributed in a huge way to the Caribbean side’s downfall in Tests and ODIs. The

tensions between the board and its players reached its peak when Dwayne Bravo’s ODI team abandoned their tour of India mid-way through the five-match series. This was due to a payment

structure dispute after the 4th ODI against India in 2014. Since then, there have been several issues between the board and the players. Dwayne Bravo, the captain of the 2014 India tour,

hasn’t been picked for a ODI or a Test match since the 4th ODI. The all-rounder eventually retired from Tests in 2015. Big players like Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard have also been ignored

for Test matches since they abandoned their India tour. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has set some stringent rules for getting selected for the national team. To be eligible for

selection the national team, the players have to play in the regional competitions. Since, leagues like Big Bash League and Indian Premier League offer higher pay packages, the players

prefer to play in cricket leagues outside their country. This is why Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy were left out of the national side for the tri-series involving Australia and

South Africa in June as well. Published: 15 Jul 2016, 7:02 AM IST