History of the West Indies cricket team
However, despite this growing talent, the West Indies team was still far from achieving Test status, as the sport was still heavily controlled by the British establishment, which saw the Caribbean colonies primarily as sources of raw materials and labour rather than as equals in the cricketing world.
[17] In the years leading up to their Test debut, the West Indies cricket team embarked on several international tours, gaining valuable experience and exposure to high-level competition.
Notable tours included trips to England, where the West Indies played against county teams and English amateurs, and to Canada, where they participated in first-class matches.
These tours allowed the West Indian players to hone their skills, learn from international cricketing cultures, and begin building a reputation for themselves on the global stage.
This achievement reflected the region’s growing prowess in the sport and the influence of British colonialism, which had fostered the spread of cricket across the empire.
The fifth and final Test showed some promise – batting first, the West Indies spent the first three days earning a 250-run lead with five wickets down in their second innings.
A bold declaration was backed up by their bowlers, as Herman Griffith took four wickets and West Indies won by 30 runs to their first overseas Test victory.
Their hosts had just come back from defeating Australia in the infamous Bodyline series,[25] where England's aggressive bowling at the body with a legside field attracted much criticism.
[26] The tactic did not work, as Douglas Jardine, the English captain who ordered his players to bowl it against the Australians, did not flinch as he scored his only Test century, making 127 out of England's 374.
Despite a century from Les Ames, England could not avoid going down by an innings and 161 runs – the West Indies had secured their first Test series victory.
With the clouds of World War II seemingly about to envelope Europe, the rest of the tour was cancelled and the Windies returned home.
[36] 1950 saw another tour of England, the series saw the emergence for the West Indies of their great spinning duo, Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine.
It didn't happen, as some brilliant running between the wicket for Australia by Bill Johnston and Doug Ring saw West Indies lose their composure and the match.
In the second and final Test, Allan Rae scored 99, Jeffrey Stollmeyer 152, Frank Worrell 100 and Clyde Walcott 115 as the West Indies put on 546 for 6 declared.
[47] Alexander went on to lead the West Indies to a three-nil win over five Tests in India,[48] and a 2–1 defeat by Pakistan in a three match rubber in the following winter.
His avuncular, bespectacled appearance and a stoop near the shoulders masked the fact that he was a very fine fielder, especially in the covers, and a devastating stroke player.
The tour of India had seen the debut of Vivian Richards, arguably the finest West Indian batsman ever, and Gordon Greenidge, who joined a strong batting line-up that already included Alvin Kallicharran and opener Roy Fredericks in addition to Rowe and Lloyd.
In a TV interview before the series, English captain Tony Greig commented that the West Indies tend to do badly under pressure and that "we'll make them grovel".
Most of the West Indian players signed up with Kerry Packer, an Australian TV magnate who was attempting to set up his own international cricket competition.
Kallicharran was deposed after losing a six-match series one-nil in India and Lloyd returned as captain for a tour against a full-strength Australia (where the Windies won two-nil, with one draw) and New Zealand.
When Goodall went to talk to Lloyd about Croft's behaviour, he had to walk all the way to meet the West Indian captain, as the latter did not move an inch from his position at the slips.
It was led by Lawrence Rowe and included prominent players like Alvin Kallicharran, Colin Croft, Collis King and Sylvester Clarke.
The West Indies' only notable defeat in this period was in the one-day arena, when, to general surprise, they lost to India in the final of the 1983 World Cup.
After Richards' retirement the only players with significant experience were Richie Richardson (who was appointed the new captain of the side), Desmond Haynes (who was soon dropped), Gus Logie (who was recalled), Courtney Walsh (who was now the leader of the West Indian pace attack) and Roger Harper (who came and went).
A new crop of young players emerged such as Brian Lara, Curtly Ambrose, Ian Bishop, Jimmy Adams, Carl Hooper, Phil Simmons, Keith Arthurton and Winston Benjamin.
He continued his fine form playing for Warwickshire in the 1994 English County Championship, posting seven first-class hundreds in eight innings (including the Test match 375).
Despite the emergence of some good batsmen like Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara remained the crucial figure of the side.
By the time Lara was restored to the captaincy in 2002–03, series had been lost to South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, New Zealand and India.
The only series win of note was against India (although Zimbabwe and Bangladesh were also beaten) as the West Indies plummeted to eighth place in the world-rankings, below all the other established Test nations.
It was on this tour that Brian Lara overtook Australian Allan Border as the highest run-scorer in Test match cricket, despite the West Indies losing the series 3–0.
