*Official* Australia Tour of West Indies 2025

[Beamer]

‘Cricket West Indies (CWI) has extended invitations to three former players - Brian Lara, Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards- to take part in an emergency meeting following West Indies' 3-0 series loss at home to Australia. The West Indies greats will join Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Desmond Haynes and Ian Bradshaw on the Cricket Strategy and Officiating Committee to review the team's "deeply disappointing" performances over the past few weeks.’

Just what we need. People that haven't played the game for years reviewing a series, making recommendations that are then not ratified by the board. Not a waste of time at all....

Ultimately this needs CARICOM intervention. We need to invest in facilities across the Caribbean. This was bad enough thst PMs are making statements promising action. Might be that Starcy has actually done us a big favour. But I'll only believe it when I see it.

 

[Beamer]

BTW in amongst all this, I didn't get the chance to talk about Alzarri. The last 2 tests saw the Alzarri we hoped we would get years ago. Hopefully the penny has dropped. Ravi Rampaul is a genius of a bowling coach, he's the first one who has actually got him to bowl a good length.

 

[social]

Just what we need. People that haven't played the game for years reviewing a series, making recommendations that are then not ratified by the board. Not a waste of time at all....

Ultimately this needs CARICOM intervention. We need to invest in facilities across the Caribbean. This was bad enough thst PMs are making statements promising action. Might be that Starcy has actually done us a big favour. But I'll only believe it when I see it.

Can’t be that expensive to produce some decent pitches and outfields across the region

Local clubs in Australia do it without the need for government grants (& interference)

 

[Beamer]

Can’t be that expensive to produce some decent pitches and outfields across the region

Local clubs in Australia do it without the need for government grants (& interference)

This could be a whole other conversation, tbh. People criticise CWI, but the real villains are Directors in the territories who receive funding every year for the last 30 years and do nothing with it.

Players can't access training facilities when it rains in St Kitts ffs. In T & T the only training facilities comparable to Australia are at private cricket clubs. So you have West Indies cricketers hiring nets out for 200 USD so they can train. Its mad. What are the territories doing with their funding? How are the facilities so bad and how are players supposed to get better if they can't train? You have current fc players just doing gym work constantly because they have no access to nets. Intervention is needed in each island at government level to force these crooked old men out.

There have been some interesting podcasts on this since yesterday as the players are speaking out.

There is a reason CWI have set up a central academy in Antigua and pay for players to live their full time so they can practice. Get them away from their territories.

 

[the big bambino]

Can’t be that expensive to produce some decent pitches and outfields across the region

Local clubs in Australia do it without the need for government grants (& interference)

We should get them doing shield pitches then.

 

[social]

This could be a whole other conversation, tbh. People criticise CWI, but the real villains are Directors in the territories who receive funding every year for the last 30 years and do nothing with it.

Players can't access training facilities when it rains in St Kitts ffs. In T & T the only training facilities comparable to Australia are at private cricket clubs. So you have West Indies cricketers hiring nets out for 200 USD so they can train. Its mad. What are the territories doing with their funding? How are the facilities so bad and how are players supposed to get better if they can't train? You have current fc players just doing gym work constantly because they have no access to nets. Intervention is needed in each island at government level to force these crooked old men out.

There have been some interesting podcasts on this since yesterday as the players are speaking out.

There is a reason CWI have set up a central academy in Antigua and pay for players to live their full time so they can practice. Get them away from their territories.

It’s my understanding that the WI basically receives the same amount of money from the ICC as NZ & SA plus they have hosted quite a few ICC tournaments over the years

Has the WICB just hosed it up against the wall

 

[TheJediBrah]

Marnus would be a way better choice than Konstas now, even at his worst, but there are still probably better options. Will all depend on form, have to see how the early Shield rounds go. If Marnus looks anything like even 70% of his best he's likely worth picking

 

[Burgey]

‘Cricket West Indies (CWI) has extended invitations to three former players - Brian Lara, Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards- to take part in an emergency meeting following West Indies' 3-0 series loss at home to Australia. The West Indies greats will join Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Desmond Haynes and Ian Bradshaw on the Cricket Strategy and Officiating Committee to review the team's "deeply disappointing" performances over the past few weeks.’

I might not be recalling correctly, but haven't they done this sort of thing before to little or no avail? It seems to be perennially the case that no one in WI cricket can set aside inter-island politics and just pick the best side. carl Hooper on the radio yesterday was saying they drew in Pakistan last year or something, and then there was a change in team management or something and about half the side which achieved that pretty reasonable result was rissoled.

 

[Skyliner]

I was thinking maybe Tagenarine Chanderpaul was a bit hard done by to be on the outer with his test average of 32.94 - which is significantly better than Roston Chase, for example.
But then looking at an analysis of the 10 tests he has played it is obvious that his average has been pumped up by a 207* scored against Zimbabwe.
When put up against the South Africans in a 2 test series he averaged 8.75

 

[Chubb]

I was thinking maybe Tagenarine Chanderpaul was a bit hard done by to be on the outer with his test average of 32.94 - which is significantly better than Roston Chase, for example.
But then looking at an analysis of the 10 tests he has played it is obvious that his average has been pumped up by a 207* scored against Zimbabwe.
When put up against the South Africans in a 2 test series he averaged 8.75

Yeah this is a minor point in the scheme of things but there was a lot of wishful thinking about him because people - particularly cricket commentators - really wanted to see Shiv's son make it. On the Aus tour the commentators were talking about him like he was going to have a ten year test career compared to Nkrumah Bonner, who probably does have a case that he was hard done by.

 

[Spark]

This could be a whole other conversation, tbh. People criticise CWI, but the real villains are Directors in the territories who receive funding every year for the last 30 years and do nothing with it.

Players can't access training facilities when it rains in St Kitts ffs. In T & T the only training facilities comparable to Australia are at private cricket clubs. So you have West Indies cricketers hiring nets out for 200 USD so they can train. Its mad. What are the territories doing with their funding? How are the facilities so bad and how are players supposed to get better if they can't train? You have current fc players just doing gym work constantly because they have no access to nets. Intervention is needed in each island at government level to force these crooked old men out.

There have been some interesting podcasts on this since yesterday as the players are speaking out.

There is a reason CWI have set up a central academy in Antigua and pay for players to live their full time so they can practice. Get them away from their territories.

People always talk about talent pool, resourcing etc but in practice it always always always ends up being governance and corruption that are the actual bottlenecks for success, across the world

 

[Skyliner]

Sounds like any Windies players with aspirations to play test cricket should be looking to play as much as they possibly can for clubs, counties, provinces etc overseas. It won't be enough to just play domestic cricket in the Windies and then expect to make it as an international quality test cricketer.

 

[honestbharani]

Translation - I scored 28 runs in an over in test cricket. You guys got bowled out for 27 in an entire innings.

 

[SkyBlue]

Why are there no crowds in Windies games? Are the tickets that expensive or there's just no interest?

I see empty seats even in ODI games.

 

[quincywagstaff]

Just what we need. People that haven't played the game for years reviewing a series, making recommendations that are then not ratified by the board. Not a waste of time at all....

Ultimately this needs CARICOM intervention. We need to invest in facilities across the Caribbean. This was bad enough thst PMs are making statements promising action. Might be that Starcy has actually done us a big favour. But I'll only believe it when I see it.

Yep, theyve been doing bringing on legends on board to paper over the cracks for decades.

Recall in 1999 Oz tour of Caribbean how journos were saying bringing on Clive Lloyd in a management role had turned around Lara's captaincy and the team (Lara resigned less than 12 months later.

Curtly Ambrose was on the 15/16 Oz Test tour as a 'bowling consultant' and the Windies bowling performances on that tour were as bad as their batting was in this one.

 

[govinda indian fan]

I might not be recalling correctly, but haven't they done this sort of thing before to little or no avail? It seems to be perennially the case that no one in WI cricket can set aside inter-island politics and just pick the best side. carl Hooper on the radio yesterday was saying they drew in Pakistan last year or something, and then there was a change in team management or something and about half the side which achieved that pretty reasonable result was rissoled.

Under last management they drew in aus and pak. Then they dropped nearly 7,8 players which imo was blunder

 

[govinda indian fan]

Best wi xi
Louis
Tagnarine
Athanzhe
Hope(c)
Anderson
Jangoo
Imlach (wk)
Motie
Alzari
Shamar
Seales
@Beamer @Silferxxxx @SillyCowCorner1 @keyr2

 

[Skyliner]

Alick Athanaze is averaging 25.08 after 13 tests, with no hundreds.

 

[Thala_0710]

Carty's FC record is horrible, but to me he looked better than most these guys, although hasn't shown it in red ball cricket enough.
But he at least looks like he could score some runs if he gets in

 

[Skyliner]

Carty's FC record is horrible, but to me he looked better than most these guys, although hasn't shown it in red ball cricket enough.
But he at least looks like he could score some runs if he gets in

Carty’s test record is horrible too: 7 tests for an average of 16.78 with a highest score of 42