In any other self-respecting, cricket jurisdiction, where success and accountability matter, heads would have rolled at CWI after that miserable performance by West Indies (W.I) in the Test Series and T20Is against Australia. Instead, following the Test series, CWI President Dr. Kishore Shallow craved the patience of long suffering W.I cricket fans and urged us to not allow the ignominy of the Third Test performance to “define our journey.” He reminded us that West Indies is in a rebuilding phase and insisted that CWI is “steadily investing in the next generation.” If Dr. Shallow intended that his statement would give hope to West Indies fans, it did nothing for me. I believe the statement was hastily produced. Aside from citing the sterling performance of the West Indies bowlers, it did not provide compelling reasons why fans should hope for sustained improvement in the performance of the W.I cricket team in any format. Indeed, some fans would be forgiven for doubting Dr. Shallow’s claim that CWI is executing a sound strategy that would “reignite the spirit that has long made West Indies cricket a force in world cricket.” Such doubt is justified just by assessing the choice of new captain and vice-captain to replace Brathwaite and Da Silva. Chase was selected, even though he had not played Test cricket for nearly two years (13 Tests) before returning to the team in 2025. Moreover, he turned 33 four months ago and averages 26 runs in 56 Tests. Shockingly, the other players who were shortlisted for the captaincy role were John Campbell (who had just completed a 2 year suspension for a doping violation), Da Silva, Tevin Imlach, Justin Greaves and spinner Jomel Warrican. Given his prior leadership experience as captain of West Indies ‘A’ teams and Vice-Captain of the Test Team, and his impressive batting in the 2025 regional cricket season, Da Silva was tipped by many discerning fans to replace Brathwaite; but inexplicably, he failed even to make the team. The sacking of Rovman Powell as W.I T20 captain is equally perplexing, given that his record in that role was 19 wins, 7 losses and one “no result” in 27 matches. Under his leadership W.I climbed to third spot in the ICC’s T20I ranking. Presumably, that record was not good enough. There is no indication that Powell’s replacement (Shai Hope) was selected via the same elaborate process that was used to select the Test captain. I hasten to indicate that I have no issues with Hope as captain of the ODI team. Dr. Shallow revealed that as an immediate step, he had “advised” the Chair of CWI’s Cricket Strategy and Officiating Committee to convene an “emergency meeting” to review the recent Test series against Australia, particularly the final match. Further, he indicated that Sirs Clive Lloyd and Vivian Richards, Brian Lara and Dr. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, will join Dr. The Most Honourable Desmond Haynes and Ian Bradshaw, who already serve on the committee. It’s puzzling that it had to take a thoroughly humiliating performance by W.I at Sabina Park to encourage CWI to tap into the “invaluable perspectives” of these batting greats “…who helped define our golden eras.” These legends have not been living on Mars, so why were they not consulted before? The terms of reference of the Committee were not provided, leaving fans to ponder what new “tangible, actionable, recommendations” the Committee can produce that CWI does not already know. Mr. Skerrit’s policy of allowing the best WI players to play franchise cricket and return to international duty without participating in regional cricket competitions has done NADA to improve the fortunes of W.I cricket. Rather, it has created confusion in the minds of budding players and selectors alike. Basically, it gave T-20 players the right to play in franchise cricket and be considered for selection alongside players who took part in regional first class cricket competitions. If players are chosen based on performance, surely the same metric should be used to assess the leadership of the CWI. In a Frank Worrall Memorial Lecture delivered on November 16, 2020, Mr. Skerrit hinted his agreement with this argument when he noted that of the 194 Test matches played by West Indies in 20 years prior to his election as CWI President, W.I lost 104 and won only 41 Tests or 21% of all Tests played, 32% of the 434 ODI’s, and 45% of the 124 T20 Internationals played at home and abroad. Instructively, of 29 Tests played during Mr. Skerrit’s term as CWI President (2019 to 2023), W.I won 9 Tests, lost 15 and drew 5. Even accounting for the disruptions caused Covid-19, this performance is nothing to “write home about.” In President Shallow’s term (2023-25), W.I has won only 4 of 20 Tests. Moreover, Mr. Skerrit and Dr. Shallow share responsibility for W.I having failed to participate in the ICC’s 2023 and 2025 ODI Champions Trophy. In fact, W.I are in danger of losing automatic qualification for the 2027 tournament having dropped to 10th place in the ICC’s rankings. With this catalogue of team and Board failure, it’s hard for even the most loyal and optimistic W.I cricket fan to feel good about the future of regional cricket or for that matter, the future of regional integration. As important as it is to the players, W.I Cricket is about much more than their right to earn a decent living, or even to become millionaires. If that was the case, the members of Clive Lloyd’s all-conquering team would have had every right to accept the US$70,000 fee offered to each of them to play cricket in apartheid South Africa. It’s no surprise that a culture of disillusionment has enveloped W.I cricket, where excellence is unattainable, where failure becomes inevitable and where ambition is replaced by resignation. Still, we have no other choice but to work together to reclaim the pride, excellence and solidarity that once defined West Indies cricket.