Onus is on the players to find some way to turn up: Chase

Stung by a string of bad results, including the 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Australia at home in July, a special committee of Cricket West Indies (CWI), comprising the likes of Brian Lara and Clive Lloyd, announced a slew of reform measures ahead of the opening Test against India.

One of the key areas the CWI committee touched upon was the financial gap between the West Indies and other top sides.

“There is obviously a struggle in the Caribbean for finances,” said captain Roston Chase after the innings and 140-run thrashing on Saturday against India, which reinforced the need for a total shake-up.

“I think the systems in the Caribbean are a bit poor in terms of training facilities and stuff. But, I’m not using that as an excuse to hide the poor performances. I still think the onus is on the players to find some way to turn up.”

Batting has been a problem for the West Indies. In the four recent Tests against Australia and India, the Windies have crossed the 200-run mark just once.

“The pitches in the Caribbean are not really batsman friendly,” Chase said. “So guys don’t really bat for long periods and score big. And then the outfields are really slow. So, when you hit the ball in the gaps, you probably end up struggling to get two.”

“That’s why you see guys averaging so low. The series against Australia, I think, was the first time I’ve ever played an international series where not one batsman scored a hundred.”

Except against Zimbabwe, West Indies has won none of its last 10 Test series, and the latest reverse to India has meant that it has succeeded in just three of its previous 18 Tests. But Chase is still hopeful of a resurrection.

“If I said no, I wouldn’t be a true West Indian,” he stated. “We’re down right now. But, there have been times where we’ve been up and other teams have been down and they’ve risen. We’re going to have to take some small steps and try to find a way back up.”