Cricket: West Indies roll back the years, bringing back memories of when they ruled the world

CLR James’s famous quote gets a regular airing in a variety of contexts. ‘What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?’ is one of the wiser things said about sport, history, politics and much more besides. But in the build-up to Sunday’s T20 final, it has a renewed resonance.

For certain cricket fans of a certain generation, seeing the West Indies team competing at the pinnacle of international competition is a wondrous and very much welcome sight. For too long, this unlikely coalition of disparate Caribbean nations has been a bit-part player in the sport.

Reduced from world’s-best status to fallen giants, they have been consigned to a depressing role of makeweights, served up as fodder for the elite national sides across the various cricketing disciplines.

The times might not be a-changing, and success in the very-limited overs format does not confirm a wholesale renaissance. But witnessing the Windies reach the final of a major competition is a brilliant, uplifting experience all the same.  

For those not familiar with their former dominance, it needs to be put into perspective just how good they were. Once upon a time, the West Indies reigned supreme. Think of the All Blacks now in rugby union and you get some idea of the overwhelming superiority of a team drawn from a group of tiny countries and island states.

Against all the odds the Windies didn’t just beat their peers but vanquished them. Humiliated them, even. In the summer of 1976, on the cusp of the West Indies’ era of triumph, England captain Tony Greig boasted he would ‘make them grovel’. Three thumping defeats later, Greig wasn’t so much forced to eat his words as do penance for his ludicrous claims.

Over a subsequent 20-year period the West Indies bossed the sport. They thrashed opposition in both the Test arena and one-day game, excelling in all departments, with a succession of legendary players.

Viv Richards, Michael ‘Whispering Death’ Holding, Desmond Haynes, Malcolm Marshall, Clive ‘Supercat’ Lloyd, Gordon Greenidge, Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Alvin Kallicharan, Andy Roberts, Brian Lara - the list of greats goes on and on. Their batting line-up accumulated mountainous scores, and paved the way for the kind of swashbuckling approach we see in the sport today. The bowling attack was the most devastating in the history of cricket.

Form followed style. The Windies won the first two World Cups, recorded a then-record 11 consecutive Test victories in 1984 and, in two devastating series, thrashed England 5-0 twice in succession.

The impact transcended the sport and was an intrinsic facet of the Windies’ success. The thumpings of England - the old colonial masters - were dubbed ‘blackwashes’, and provided a visible sense of self-determination for young countries trying to free themselves from the legacy of empire.

The West Indies, drawing on a combined population of just four million, played with a vibrancy and sense of collective purpose almost unmatched in world sport. This was reflected in the atmosphere at matches, particularly in England.

First-generation West Indian immigrants took huge pride in seeing their compatriots excel, while second-generation sons and daughters found inspiration when they were marginalised and faced discrimination in their country of birth.

Test grounds, notably the Oval, became extensions of Sabina Park or the Kensington Oval. The noise, vitality, and energy from the West Indies fans was in complete contrast to the often staid and stultifying atmospheres produced by all too many English supporters.

Some stuffed shirts in the English cricketing establishment hated it, which just went to prove how vital and necessary the Windies’ fanbase were. The brilliant documentary Fire In Babylon is an essential watch to explain the full significance of the team’s achievements and their wider importance.

It could not last for ever, and since the 1990s, West Indies cricket has suffered a depressing decline. The once all-conquering Test side is not so much a shadow of its former self as a bad tribute act. The Windies can still produce world-class performers but the talent pool is in desperate need of greater depth.

There are a range of reasons - competition from other sports, complacency, neglect, a lack of investment and the economic situation in the global game and beyond. The cyclical nature of sport is another factor. But to see such a steep fall from grace has been a sad spectacle.

The modern Windies have a long, long way to go to emulate their forebears, and reaching the T20 final does not represent a genuine comeback. But it will at the very least serve as a reminder of the glory days and give renewed hope for a recovery in Caribbean cricket