Legendary West Indian batsman, Sir Vivian Richards recently highlighted what he sees as worrying times for West Indies cricket. Richards, who on Friday celebrated the 50th anniversary of his West Indies debut, was being interviewed while representing his own country of Antigua & Barbuda at this month’s World Travel Awards in London.
“I’m seriously concerned, because I think that the team that toured England at that time wasn’t a team in my opinion that was getting enough cricket,” Richards said. “Gone are the days where we would play a few county matches, you get yourself into nick, if you were out of nick and to try and play yourself back into form.”
Addressing what he believed would be the answer to this ongoing issue, Richards indicated that players need to participate in more long-format cricket matches. He noted that there must be a balance between the shorter forms of cricket, particularly T20s which have seemingly taken over the interests of young cricketers in the region.
“I think we need to play some more cricket around the region in itself and for the individuals who are looking to play the longer version, for them to have adequate enough practice and also the games that they play, getting them ready for the bigger picture. The ICC and the governing body, they’ve got to find a rule” Richards stated.
“Too many guys who can hardly spell the game cricket are playing in T20. And I think there must be a path in order for you to get to that particular version. You must go through some tough times, like learning the game, the proper way it’s played, then to me, the money factor comes into play.”
The Windies are currently in a rebuilding stage at the senior level across formats. Particularly in Test cricket, the Men in Maroon are striving to find their footing.
The Windies have had a challenging year in Tests, currently bottom of the ICC World Test Championship standings. The ongoing series against Bangladesh, though part of the World Test Championship, is mostly a battle for pride, as both teams are out of contention for higher rankings.
