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West Indies might not be one of the favourites to win the title heading into the T20 World Cup in Australia but their unpredictability in the shortest format of the game would keep all the other teams on their toes. The Men in Maroon are among the 16 teams that will compete in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to be played between October and 16-November 13 in Australia. The Calypso Kings emerged as the champions in the shortest format in 2012 and 2016 and also the only team to lift the coveted trophy on two occasions. The team consists of T20 specialists and will look to added another trophy to their cabinet.
Cricket and West Indies
Cricket started being played in the West Indies in the 19th century. In the year 1890, the West Indies team came into existence and they hosted England for the first time. After this, the 'gentleman's game' as it is popularly known, occupied a special place in the hearts of West Indians and they started playing it in their own attractive way. West Indies Cricket Board had joined the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1926 and played its first official Test match in 1928. Thus, West Indies became the fourth team to get Test status.
The golden era
West Indies dominated world cricket between 1975 and 1985, the period which is also regarded as the golden era in the country's cricket history. With mercurial players like Sir Vivian Richards, Malcolm Marshall, Clive Lloyd and Michael Holding, West Indies first won the World Cup in 1975 and then retained their crown in 1979. West Indies was feared by every opposition team during that period in which they enjoyed a stranglehold over every other cricket-playing nation. But with India ending their reign in the 1983 World Cup, West Indies started seeing their domination slip away, not instantaneously but ultimately.
'Many Islands, One Nation'
West Indies comprises of players from 15 countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Anguilla, Montserrat, British Virgin Island, US virgin Island and Sint Maarten. 'Many Islands, One Nation', a slogan used by the people of the Caribbean and West Indies comprises 3,000 islands in the region.
T20 champions
After dominating the world cricket in Tests and ODIs, West Indies saw a steep decline in their cricketing fortunes. With legendary players walking away from the sport, the next-generation cricketers couldn't match their level and countries like Australia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England took their game to the next level.
With the arrival of T20 cricket, West Indies found their perfect match as the skillset of their players were tailor-made for the shortest format of the game. With players like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard decimating best of bowling attacks with their raw muscle, West Indies scaled to the top in T20 cricket, winning the World Cup in 2012 and 2016. The Men in Marron would look to once again rekindle memories of Yester years by clinching the T20 World Cup title in Australia.
