Can the West Indians regain their lost glory?

As the West Indians prepare to arrive in India for three Tests and five ODIs, one can't help taking a trip down memory lane to recall how the all-conquering teams from the Caribbean rode roughshod over all opposition in the 80s and early 90s.

By comparison, Darren Sammy's squad seems pretty emaciated with the rankings saying it all. West Indies are No 7 in the Test rankings and No 8 in the ODI rankings and have been languishing near the bottom for quite some time now.

And yet the scenario was very different not very long ago. For about 15 years, the West Indies were rated as arguably the greatest team of all time. They had an array of stroke playing batsmen, a fearsome quartet of pace bowlers, acrobatic fieldsmen and a swagger in their attitude that could intimidate their opponents.

They simply toyed with the opposition, winning matches with uncanny ease, finishing them with a day or two to spare, quite often emerging victorious by an innings and plenty. They set all sorts of world records - the most notable being eleven successive victories and remaining unbeaten for 27 Tests besides notching up two consecutive 5-0 'blackwashes' of England at home and away.

Yes, the West Indies dominated the game like no other team before it. Older players retired but the replacements were just as effective, brilliant or dynamic and the reign at the top continued. There seemed no end to their dominance but in 1995 the impregnable "wall" finally crashed.

Touring the Caribbean that year, the Australians won the four match series 2-1 and after 15 years and 29 series world cricket's longest lasting dynasty was overthrown. The previous occasion that the West Indies lost a series was in March 1980 when they had gone down narrowly in New Zealand. Since then they had won 20 and drawn nine (including two one-off Tests).

To see the West Indies being roundly thrashed repeatedly these days is a pitiable sight particularly to those who remember the all-conquering team that pervaded the cricketing world for a decade and a half. What a marvellous sight they presented for the spectators and the TV audience - if not the opponents!

For starters there was this batting line-up that started with Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes and continued with the likes of Vivian Richards, Clive Lloyd, Lawrence Rowe, Alvin Kallicharran, Richie Richardson, Larry Gomes, Carl Hooper and Brian Lara. Behind the stumps were brilliant wicket keepers like Deryck Murray and Jeff Dujon.

And as for the awesome fast bowlers, they could take the pick from Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Malcolm Marshall, Ian Bishop, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose. Those at the helm of affairs during this rampaging period were Lloyd, Richards and Richardson and their job was certainly not difficult given the admirable resources at their command.