When too much cricket is nowhere to be seen.

[El Gordo]

The decline of the West Indies is sad. Most people of a certain age here will recall the fear they generated back in the 70s and 80s under Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards. Seems hard to believe now. Gayle did the team few favours by essentially admitting that he thought test cricket was outmoded earlier this year. Rightly or wrongly, it gave the impression that their heart just wasn't in it.

Of course, over here we rather like playing a team on its uppers. Victory is far from guaranteed or even expected here, despite the last two home Ashes series. Australians seem to much prefer a tight contest even if it means risking defeat. I wouldn't hold out too much hope of a spirited fightback here though. The Windies seem to lose their bottle easily these days.