Aussie fans used to idolise West Indies greats. Now we need to Google their players

Australian cricket fans have had a strong affection for West Indian players and cricket teams for a long time.

The elegance and graceful power of Frank Worrell’s 1960-61 squad made an indelible mark that branded “Calypso cricket” as a style to be admired and copied. They played with a freedom not anchored by the concept of “the draw”.

That tour was rightly seen as the end of the self-absorbed batting epoch of the 1950s when the lbw law was designed to be impossible and pads were worn out quicker than bats. The Aussie fans couldn’t wait for the Windies’ 1968-69 tour. They were, sadly, a softening shadow of Worrell’s men eight years earlier, but still managed to win a Test in the 3-1 series defeat.

International teams did not tour every year and the Ashes still held primacy into the early 1970s, but that was to change by 1975-76 when Clive Lloyd brought a mixture of grizzled veterans, batting tyros and rampaging fast bowlers Down Under. The scoreline favoured Australia 5-1, but that was not a true reflection of the difference between the teams. The disparity in the result had little to do with the quality and, hence, the entertainment provided – the fans barracked for Lloyd’s men as much as they did for the home team.

That trend continued through World Series Cricket and then turned another corner into the Windies’ domination of the 1980s when the West Indies toured Australia regularly for Tests, one-dayers or both. Thank goodness T20 had yet to be popularised.

As a player during that period I often mused as to why the fans were making more noise for the visitors; granted they were winning a lot of the time, but still...

Viv Richards was all class and swagger, becoming a huge fan favourite Down Under.Credit: Fairfax

The West Indies had toured so often since World Series Cricket that they had become household names in an era when colour television was broadcasting players’ images into every loungeroom. The table set by Worrell et al was now presenting a feast. Before a series began, every Caribbean player was well known to the audience. How times have changed.

Yes, Twenty20 cricket is dominating the marketplace, and players are making choices to take the line of least resistance towards a low physical input and a highly paid existence. No problems there, but it does seem that a number of Windies players in the past managed to produce in the shortest form and Test cricket.

Arguably the greatest 20-over batsman of all time, Chris Gayle, squeezed in 103 Tests and 301 ODIs, while Dwayne Bravo was not considered a pure Test player – his all-round game and competitiveness suited to white-ball excursions – but he managed 40 Tests, a decent career in that form by any measure.

The Windies have always provided bright cricket and brighter personalities. The style of game they played was an extension of their attitude to life; the stoic Larry Gomes being the exception that proved the rule.

The Windies’ quick men bowled with physicality and nasty intent, and Joel Garner was among the most menacing of all.Credit: Fairfax

The fast bowlers ran in like FAST BOWLERS – all physicality and nasty intent. Joel Garner was larger than life, on and off the field. Viv Richards’ swagger and swat were worshipped by Australians who wore more maroon and grey to the ground than green and gold. The Windies had serious game and a serious show to go with it.

Thankfully, today we have search engines, social media and websites to learn about the personalities and performances of Kavem Hodge, Shamar Joseph and Justin Greaves.

Although the Caribbean Premier League is on pay-television, there is no easily accessible coverage of domestic first-class matches, so when new talent emerges in the islands they don’t get exposure to the foreign fans. The shortest path to public notice for these young players will be to put up strong resistance to an Australian team very much at the height of its powers.

Test match cricket is never won by the lucky; five days allow for mistakes to be made and recovered from, but you can’t repeat errors against quality teams.

Sir Don Bradman and West Indies cricketer Viv Richards in Adelaide in 1981.Credit: The Age Archives

An under-strength Pakistan pushed Australia despite being written off before a ball was shunted. Some unheralded players accepted the challenge and refused to be intimidated by the home team. It did help that the Australian batsmen played a very conservative style until the final innings of the series.

If Pakistan’s catching had been anywhere near international standard they may well have won a Test or two. The Windies need to look at how Pakistan went about their job with disciplined bowling and at times aggressive batting. The senior players in Kraigg Brathwaite, Joshua da Silva and Kemar Roach will need to be at their best. Roach, Greaves and the Joseph looked sharp in the CA XI match and might cause some problems to Australia’s new opening batsman. If Steve Smith falls easily then doubts may be sown among a batting order that has been successful and now is reshuffled.

Hodge, da Silva, Brathwaite and Greaves had time in the middle against the CA XI; their preparation has been about as good as it could get under the current schedules.

Richards, Lloyd, Garner, Michael Holding and Richie Richardson have gone, now the new West Indians must make their own futures, and they have the opportunity starting this week in Adelaide.

I’m not suggesting that they are of the level of the names just mentioned, but if they can resist and fight and compete you never know what may happen. They’d certainly win plenty of fans.

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