Development of The Test Captaincy of West Indies - 1990s

1990s

1991

Richards is the only West Indies captain never to lose a Test series, which reflected his fierce will to win and the way he drove his team. After 50 Tests in which he retained West Indies' place as the prevailing force in world Test cricket, Viv Richards retired as West Indies Test captain. "He was impatient with error... but commanded respect and loyalty of the troops whom he led because he was a great player." (Manley)

1991–92

Jackie Hendricks was Chairman of Selectors when the Board appointed Richie Richardson. Desmond Haynes, the man being groomed for the role and Richards' vice-captain, was elbowed out of the captaincy ….. "that was when the Board failed to understand the importance of the influence of Haynes as a senior member of the Lloyd/Richards era being needed to make the transition, to bring the culture, the work ethic and the spirit of domination to another group."

1992

A poor showing by the West Indies in the 1992 World Cup in Australia and a young team reeling from the retirement of Richards, Greenidge and Marshall led to the West Indies calling on former skipper Rohan Kanhai as their first coach, appointed by the WICB in autumn 1992.

1994

Courtney Walsh appointed stand-in captain for the tours of India and New Zealand after Richie Richardson was ordered to rest because of "acute fatigue syndrome".

Kanhai complained about disciplinary problems among the West Indian players, and relinquished the job in 1995.

1994–95

Richardson returned as captain for the home series against Australia but without Haynes to give his support "WICB's controversial eligibility rule was used to exclude Haynes, the Barbadian batsmen, from the home series against Australia. Haynes, who was 39 at the time, had missed one match during that year's regional competition because of a professional contract with Western Province in South Africa and was left out of the West Indies team."

1995–96

Wes Hall manager in England with Andy Roberts as coach. Disciplinary measures needed : Winston Benjamin was sent home from the tour of England.

At the end of the 1996 World Cup during which Kenya surprisingly beat West Indies at Pune, Richie Richardson resigned as captain. Andy Roberts was sacked as coach, and Wes Hall ended his term as team manager.

March 1996

Courtney Walsh became captain. The WICB persuaded Clive Lloyd who lived in England and was detached from the politics of West Indies cricket, to become Manager. Walsh was given a say in selection but Lloyd said that as manager he too should be on the selection panel proper, not simply on tour.

March 1997

Brian Lara became captain for the first time in the third Test against India in the absence of the injured Courtney Walsh and won the match by 38 runs so that WI won the series 1–0.

January 1998

Brian Lara appointed West Indies captain to succeed Courtney Walsh, who was sacked after West Indies tour of Pakistan. (Walsh did well initially with series wins over New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka. A loss to Australia and a whitewash in Pakistan followed).

The WICB initially rejected the selectors' recommendation of Brian Lara as captain instead of Courtney Walsh but Lara nevertheless appointed, and won the series against Mike Atherton's England.

1998–99

Holed up in a London Airport hotel on its way to South Africa, the team made demands on conditions and retainer contracts : Lara as captain and Hooper as vice captain were sacked, then reinstated. "The junior players found themselves dragged into a dispute in which the seniors were largely seeking a pay increase for themselves" (Wisden).

West Indies manager Clive Lloyd thought it was a mistake to go ahead with 1998–99 South Africa tour after the players' protest over pay and conditions, made in London between planes to South Africa. Bryan Davis, a critic, said 'Brian is an enigma and he displays the best of himself and the worst. Being one of the leaders put him into a powerful position and that really started the decline of West Indies cricket'".

March 1999

Criticism grew and Lara's captaincy became beset by difficulties. Marshall was unable to continue as coach while undergoing cancer treatment, so Viv Richards carried out the coaching role with manager Clive Lloyd. Then vice-captain Carl Hooper suddenly retired and withdrew from 1999 World Cup team.

October 1999

Malcolm Marshall's three-year term as coach and Lloyd's stint as manager ended.

Marshall died on 4 November.

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