5 players who can give West Indies cricket a fresh lease of life
There was a time when the West Indies ruled world cricket with the charisma and flair of Julius Caesar. You pick a place in the island and throw an arrow, and 99 out of 100 times would it hit a cricketer. The Windies had them everywhere. Talented, flamboyant, aggressive, intimidating, gifted and dashing cricketers were all over the place.
Then came the 2000s and more kids switched to other sports, leaving the Windies in a hole. The evolution of T20 cricket coincided with West Indies' downfall in the longer formats and the players grabbed on to it like it was the last ray of hope. And they thrived.
T20 cricket was made for the Windies. It was a celebration of their culture and life. They embraced it and lived by it. Test and ODI cricket weren’t spared as the big T20 leagues attracted the West Indian players. And the leagues loved them. The franchises stocked their teams with the flair-filled West Indian players who could just walk in and tonk the ball a long way.
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A pathetic cricket board made matters worse. Conflicts became commonplace, contracts became a joke and payments were well, rarely made. Several big players walked out on their nation, mainly due to the stringent policies of the Board, and the talent drain reached its peak a long time ago.
West Indies now need some gutsy, passionate youngsters to take the game forward in the country. They might be down and out now, but there are ardent fans who believe that they still have some fight left in them. Here are a few players who can pioneer a resurrection in the Caribbean Islands.
#5 Jason Holder
The youngest ever West Indian skipper, Jason Omar Holder, is every bit in sync with the rich fast bowling tradition in the country. However, despite his lanky structure and intimidating height, Holder bowls at a friendly pace and has often been criticized for his performances. That said, the skipper is a talented bowler and a pretty handy batsman. He has shown maturity and character to hold cricket in the West Indies together at such a young age.
The criticisms leveled at him for his performances were totally warranted a few years ago. However, Holder has been pretty good in the past two years, ‘holding’ one end up while his trusted ally, Shannon Gabriel, has picked up the wickets. Since 2016, Holder has made 835 runs across formats in 38 games at an average of 26.93 and taken 50 wickets during the same time frame.
While Holder the cricketer may not turn into an Ambrose or a Walsh, Holder the leader is someone the young kids in West Indies should try to emulate.