As the ICC T20 World Cup neared, they saw the return of Gayle, Sammy, Bravo and Samuel Badree into the team. An injury to Pollard meant that Brathwaite found himself in the 15-member squad to India.
But there was another contract crisis with just one month to go for the World T20 when the terms of the contract weren’t accepted by the team coming to India due to the massive price cut.
Skipper Darren Sammy also said the same in his letter to the WICB and added that 14 of the 15 players were not a part of the WIPA and hence, the WIPA couldn’t negotiate on their behalf, and proposed that his team participate in the T20 World Cup under the same terms they had represented the West Indies in previous tournaments.
Sammy's argument was dismissed by Michael Muirhead, the CEO of the WICB. He stated that the sums mentioned in Sammy's statement were incorrect and stated that WIPA was the recognized collective bargaining representative of West Indies cricketers and therefore negotiates the remuneration between WICB and each West Indian player, whether the player is a member of WIPA or not.
He said that non-contracted players too could be selected but had to accept the contract decided last year between the board and the WIPA before 14 February to be eligible, and threatened to send a second-string side if the players failed to do so. Eventually, the players accepted the contracts to ensure that the West Indies send a near full-strength team to India.
But that was not the end of their problems. They had no uniforms for the event and it was their new manager, Raul Lewis, who went to Kolkata to get them printed. In the lead-up to the mega event, they were called a team ‘short of brains’ by English commentator Mark Nicholas.
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Despite all the adversities, they were inspired to excel by the victory of their U-19 team in the ICC Under-19 World Cup earlier this year as they went into the World T20. Even though he didn’t do anything much with the bat and ball, Darren Sammy led his men extremely well with only one mantra- believe.
In their first warm-up match, they lost to India by 45 runs. It was after this loss that things took a turn for the better. In the next warm- up, they defeated Australia and this kicked-off a winning spree which constituted wins over England featuring the fastest World T20 hundred by Gayle, over Sri Lanka and over South Africa.
In their last Super-10 match, they were beaten by Afghanistan to end with three wins out of four to finish on top of their group.
They faced India in the semifinals and stunned the hosts by seven wickets to cause a major upset. In the final, they met England. It was a keenly contested match which was sealed when Brathwaite hit Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes in the last over. Thus, West Indies became the first team to win the ICC World T20 title twice.
What was heartening to see in their campaign was that they were enjoying the atmosphere, even when they were in trouble. They danced their way through the tournament and even celebrated with the Afghanistan team after their loss.
Darren Sammy said throughout the tournament that he had a team of 15 match winners and a different player stood up in each match to take their team home. He believed a lot in his team and had said that they had the ability to get the job done.
The team didn’t disappoint their captain by getting the job done to cap off a brilliant year for West Indies Cricket, with their women’s team winning the women’s ICC World T20 as well.
A comparison with the 1970s
This turnaround resembled the rise of West Indies in the 1970s, which saw them stay at the top of world cricket for almost two decades.
The man then was Clive Lloyd. He brought 15 talented individuals from the Caribbean together and made the gang a team which would become invincible. He was the hand that guided the team to world domination.
Lloyd’s first test as skipper was the tour of Australia in 1975-76, which the hosts won 5-1. The aftermath of this series saw the birth of bowlers like Michael Holding, Colin Croft and Andy Roberts as fearsome fast bowlers who could bounce the opposition out.
In the lead-up to West Indies’ tour of England in 1976, England captain Tony Greig said that the West Indies team were ‘not as good as everyone thought they were’ and added that it wasn't that long ago they were beaten 5–1 by the Australians and only just managed to keep their heads above water against the Indians, just a short time ago as well.
He agreed that they had some fast bowlers but felt that they weren’t as good as Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee. To top it all, he said, “You must remember that the West Indians, these guys, if they get on top are magnificent cricketers. But if they're down, they grovel, and I intend, with the help of Closey and a few others, to make them grovel.”
The comment motivated the West Indies and the result was a 3-0 drubbing of England, thanks to some fiery pace bowling by their pacers and some fearless batting by Sir Vivian Richards. The team never looked back after that as they continued to dominate world cricket in their own style.
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The brand of cricket the West Indies play, mixing cricket with fun, is really pleasing and extremely rare to see. Their style is what gives them so much love from people around the world and for many, West Indies come second only to their home country in their favorites’ list.
So, it is disheartening to see West Indies cricket in shambles. Only time will tell whether or not wins in three major ICC tournaments will bring joy and good fortunes to the people of the Caribbean, to its cricketers and to its board, which would enable them to play good cricket for much longer and once again become a force to be reckoned with.
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