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Why are West Indians so good at T20 cricket?

PostPosted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 9:43 pm
by The Professor
More than any other international side there is a huge disparity between the quality of the West Indies in the longer form of the game and in T20 - this even extends to domestic T20 cricket leagues which West Indians light up.

If you remember Mark Nicholas' infamous 'brainless' quote I think he was referring to a lack of long term strategy and subtle manoeuvring in West Indian cricket...something that is not needed as much in T20.

What T20 does need, however, is athleticism and individual panache...something West Indies have in bucket loads.

Such a shame that they can only play in this one gear though.

Re: Why are West Indians so good at T20 cricket?

PostPosted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 7:08 pm
by Arthur Crabtree
Maybe their weaknesses are not as relevant in T20. It seems possible that they don't have the same interest in the longer game.

Re: Why are West Indians so good at T20 cricket?

PostPosted: Fri May 06, 2016 11:27 am
by mikesiva
Well, lest we forget, the West Indies had a very good winning record in Test cricket between 1976 and 2000, dominating for most of that period, until the Aussies eventually took over the world lead. So, ability to play Test cricket is clearly not an issue....

But, as Arthur says, times change....

There's more money in T20s, and more fans and spectators, so it's natural that the talented cricketers coming through the ranks would gravitate to that version of the game first and foremost. T20 cricket also liberates cricketers from the corrupt and pernicious control of the WICB...another plus of that format.

I remember when I lived in the Jamaica up until 2001, members of my family and my wife's extended family would attend and watch Test matches. Now, when I speak to them, no member of the family watches Test cricket any more, but they've switched their interest to Jamaica's performances in the CPL.

A sign of the times....

Re: Why are West Indians so good at T20 cricket?

PostPosted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:28 pm
by mikesiva
'In the year before the 2016 World T20, five West Indies squad members had played T20 cricket exclusively, compared to none from any other side in the tournament. Badree has not even played a domestic 50-over match since 2013. A long-time representative on the West Indian Players' Association, Badree believes that bad relations with the board "in a way worked out well for the players. Obviously when we started, and when the whole issue started, there were not so many T20 leagues around the world. But as the T20 leagues came aboard, the players had more opportunities to go outside and represent different franchises, different teams, and make an honest living - a decent living at that.'

http://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/ ... ings-again