"Put 100-200 million dollars..." - Brian Lara blasts CWI for West Indies' downfall in Tests

West Indies great Brian Lara has lashed out at Cricket West Indies (CWI) after the team's hammering at the hands of England in the first Test at Lord's. Lara claimed that the board has been unable to maintain the standards a the grassroots level, which is the main reason for their decline.

In the match, West Indies could not put up any fight in the game and were always lagging behind. None of their batters could score a half-century in any of the innings. As a result, they could not surpass England's first-innings total and lost the match by an innings and 114 runs.

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Brian Lara blames Cricket West Indies

While speaking on BBC World Service’s Stumped podcast, Lara reasoned West Indies' defeat to their lack of proper cricketing facilities and the inability to nurture the talent.

“If you put 100 million, 200 million dollars into the West Indies’ bank account, is it going to change the way we play the game? I’m not sure. We are not harnessing the talent that we have,” Lara said.

Lara blamed the Cricket West Indies (CWI) for attracting sponsors, which could have improved the cricket at grassroots and academy levels.

“The West Indies Cricket Board (CWI) hasn’t done the right job in attracting these sponsors to ensure that at least grassroots, but also the academy, all the different things, the facilities, are up to standard. I think these things are very, very important,” the former batter added.

West Indies cricket team is not going through the best time in the past few years. Despite the team's glorious past which saw them winning the first two Cricket World Cups, they have been unable to produce results as a team.

There has been rift between some of the top players in the team and the board, which hasn't helped the cause as well. The players have continuously preferred playing in T20 leagues over international cricket. In the ICC Test Rankings, West Indies are currently ranked eighth. They are ranked 6th in the current cycle of World Test Championship (WTC).

"Cricket has been diluted by the number of different sports" - Brian Lara

Lara also felt that the other sports in the Caribbean like athletics have reduced the importance of cricket, which has reduced its talent pool.

"Apart from players opting to play more of white-ball leagues, cricket has also been overtaken by other sports like Athletics in the Caribbean, thus affecting the talent pool. Obviously, cricket has been diluted by the number of different sports and different opportunities for kids, but I still believe that Cricket West Indies have got to get involved," the legendary left-hander opined.

West Indies failed to qualify for the 2023 ODI World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup's main draw. They even failed to qualify for the upcoming Champions Trophy which will be played in 2025. Recently, West Indies co-hosted the T20 World Cup 2024 alongside USA, where they made it to the Super 8 stage by topping their group but could not make it to the semi-finals.