Once the Dapper Kings
It was the most talked about team in World Cricket. They were unconquerable, seemingly Invictus. Facing them instilled a sense of fear in the heart and minds of the opposition. Tall, pacy, intimidating bowlers, who revelled in knocking off the blues of hapless batsmen. On the other side were fearless, aggressive batters who displayed limitless audacity and some dapper calypso courage. They were impossible to dismantle was the popular belief. The Mighty West Indies they were, who ruled Cricket through their deadly dominance.
The Popular Belief Shaken
The West Indies rode on the power of their self belief and that of the opposition who never believed in themselves, till an aberration happened. Chasing a third consecutive World Title, the West Indies were humbled by a seemingly weak Indian Team. The only difference being that the Indians had self belief. In their heart of hearts they knew they could pull this off and dethrone the Calypso Kings and so they did. The Invincible tag on the West Indies had received a bit of a shock, their self belief too was shaken.
The Vulnerables
Since that defeat in 1983, the West Indies began to decline, though very slowly initially, but then rapidly till they became extremely vulnerable to even minnows and weak oppositions. And now a time has arrived that they had to play the qualifiers. Losing to Zimbabwe and a demoralising defeat to the Netherlands has set up a painstaking possibility of the Cricket World Cup, to be held in India, without the West Indies ( they need a miracle to qualify ). The colour, the aggression, the belligerence and the flair of the Windies shall be missed big time.
Self Belief in Tatters
The confidence which they once rode on has been stifled no end. The belief on the other side that the Windies can be beaten has simply gained strength year on year. However sad it may sound for the connoisseurs and the lovers of cricket alike, the West Indies have reached the pole opposite to where they once belonged. Make no mistake, there is no dearth of outstanding talent in the West Indies. They still have brilliant batters and tear away fast bowlers, but serious conviction is lacking and so is the good old self belief, which is in tatters and will require massive repair to uplift the team.
A Life Lesson
The decline of the Calypso Kings is a life lesson. Great talents still need conviction and self belief to thrive and are the two extremely vital cogs in the wheel of success…..Don’t let them go.
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Featured Image : The ever vociferous West Indies supporters
Laudable piece of work
Thank you so much. Really appreciate
The downfall of the West Indies cannot be wholly attributed to only abstract or psychological reasons/ factors as negativity in self-belief or lack of conviction. A holistic approach is the need of the hour. An in- depth detailed study/ examination of all possible factors and contributory aspects in the recent poor showings of the Calypso cricketers can unearth what has been going wrong there and how the West Indies can regain their lost glory and stature in international cricket. I personally feel this would be a more sensible and pragmatic approach. Anyway Riz has done well to highlight the West Indian cricketing dilemma and give its buffs some food for thought.
The point is well taken. Thank you for the insight