Barbados cricket and West Indies cricket

Tony Becca, Contributor

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup has come and gone, the West Indies, knocked out in the quarter-finals, were disappointing, the regional four-day championship is now at its semi-final stage, Barbados are not in it, and one wonders if the decline in Barbados cricket is not the reason for a disappointing West Indies team.

Once upon a time, it was said that whenever New South Wales are strong, Australia are strong, whenever Yorkshire are strong, England are strong, and whenever Barbados are strong, the West Indies are strong.

And that was true, very true.

When Australia, for example, boasted the likes of Don Bradman, Keith Miller, Neil Harvey, and Ray Lindwall, they were invincible, when England lined up with Len Hutton, Hedley Verity, Fred Trueman, Johnny Wardle, Bill Bowes, and Norman Yardley, they were all conquering, and when the West Indies paraded the likes of Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes, and Clyde Walcott, and Denis and Eric Atkinson, Garry Sobers, Conrad Hunte, Seymour Nurse, Wes Hall, and Charlie Griffith, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Joel Garner, Sylvester Clarke, and Malcolm Marshall, they were unbeatable.

In those days, in the days of Sobers and company, Barbados were so strong that nine Barbadians were on the West Indies tour of England in 1966. They won the regional title many, many times, and although they lost, mainly through a splendid century innings from fellow West Indian Rohan Kanhai and some fine off-spin bowling from West Indian colleague Lance Gibbs, they once challenged the Rest of the World, at Kensington Oval in Barbados, in order to prove who was the best.

Barbados have won the regional title on 20 occasions, including a tie on one occasion, while Jamaica have won 10 times, Guyana six, Trinidad and Tobago five, including one tie, and the Leeward Islands four.

In the days between 1966 and 1986, they won the title on 12 occasions, including four times in succession between 1977 and 1980.

Best in the region

In those days, Barbados were the best in the region, undoubtedly so, and although they have not been as dominant since then, they won their fair share up to 2007.

This year, the year of the World Cup, Barbados have been disappointing, and that may be why the West Indies was also disappointing.

At one stage of the regional competition, Barbados were down at the foot of the ladder, one step from the bottom, and after winning one match, after losing one and drawing five, the once mighty Barbados finished on 27 points, at number five out of seven.

It may be that Barbados suffered from the absence of many of their born and bred players and from the presence of many Barbadians on the Combined Campuses and Colleges team, the team which included some six Barbadians, the team which finished top of the preliminary round with 57 points.

Numbered among the absent Barbadians were captain Omar Phillips and veteran Floyd Reifer.

Guyana, the birthplace of not only Kanhai and Gibbs but also of Joe Solomon, Basil Butcher, and Colin Croft, finished last on 16 points after failing to win one single match and losing four, and the Leeward Islands, the home of Viv Richards and Andy Roberts, Richie Richardson, Curtley Ambrose, and Ridley Jacobs, ended up one from the bottom on 19 points after winning one solitary game, and maybe they should also feel guilty for failing the West Indies.

One thing is sure however, West Indies cricket is suffering now. It misses the strength of Barbados cricket, and certainly so the champions of Barbados cricket, class batsmen like Worrell, Weekes, and Walcott, Sobers, Nurse, Greenidge, and Haynes, and pedigree bowlers the quality of Hall and Griffith, Garner, and Marshall.

When they were around, Barbados were kings of West Indies cricket, and West Indies cricket, for most of the time, ruled the world.