Former Australian captain Kim Hughes fears for the future of the West Indies in Test cricket

The current West Indies are a shadow of the fearsome teams of the ‘80s, and a former Australian skipper - who was terrorised in those times - fears for the future of the once great side.

The West Indies struggled of recent years are well known. James Worsfold/Getty Images

An Australian cricket captain who had his career brutally sabotaged by the West Indies fears the once-mighty outfit could be fading towards Test extinction.

Former Test skipper Kim Hughes believes the West Indies’ future in Test cricket is under an ever-darkening cloud as they prepare to tour Australia this summer for Tests in Adelaide and Brisbane in January.

West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding with former Australian captain Kim Hughes.

Hughes, who tearfully resigned as captain after a landslide Test loss to the West Indies at the Gabba in 1984, was appalled by what he saw from the Windies last summer when Australia trounced the tourists in two Tests, bowling them out for 77 in Adelaide.

The West Indies’ bowling was so ineffectual that five of them averaged more than 100 runs per wicket for the series.

“It’s really sad to say it but I fear for their future as a Test side,’’ Hughes said.

“I can see a situation in 10 years where the West Indies are financially incapable of playing as the West Indies and a lot of their players just float in T20 competitions around the world.

“We need a strong West Indies. I am worried about them because the West Indies that played here last year would not have beaten any of the state second XIs.

“They were dreadful. That’s not good for world cricket.’’

Hughes played his last nine Tests against a rampaging West Indian side that was five years into a 15-year run in which it did not lose a series.

“They were the greatest cricket team of all time,’’ he said. “You had Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes opening the batting, Viv Richards in the middle order with Larry Gomes, who did even better against Australia than Viv.

The West Indies in their heyday of the early 1980s. Picture: staff photographer

“Then you had bowlers like Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding.

“My average went from 43 to 37 when I played the great West Indian side. On what I saw last year, my average would have gone from 37 to 95 if I had played that lot. They were terrible.

“Because the West Indies are such great athletes, there are a lot of talent scouts from the United States come down and recruit them for basketball or athletics.

“You can’t just have Test cricket propped up by Australia, India, England and New Zealand. You need other nations.

“We need that Calypso magic. Every country brings their particular flavour.

“One of the positive things out of the IPL is that they have put money into not only the West Indies but South African cricket.’’

Originally published as Former Australian captain Kim Hughes fears for the future of the West Indies in Test cricket