Calcutta: Curtly Ambrose slammed the current West Indies side, calling them “pathetic” after the Jason Holder-led side suffered a humiliating innings defeat to England in the Day/Night Test at Edgbaston.
And on top of that, they were given the thrashing inside three days, losing 19 wickets in a day.
In his column for an England-based newspaper, Ambrose wrote: “In the end, it was totally embarrassing. They’ve been pathetic.
“I never saw any aggression from the West Indies players throughout the three days. There was no belief that they could compete, let alone beat England.
“They seemed to be waiting for England to make mistakes and at this level, that is not going to work. Trust me, it was painful to watch.”
West Indies have now won just three out of 87 away Tests in the past 20 years, excluding matches against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Ambrose said he had tried to stop the slide as a member of the coaching staff, but in the end felt it was a waste of time. “I was with the team for two years as bowling coach and we tried to educate the players about our heritage,” the former bowling spearhead recalled.
“I talked about the pride and passion in representing the region and our people. I could talk to them all day, but once they stepped over that rope, they were on their own and if they were not prepared to listen, it was simply a waste of time. It does hurt.
“And it has reached a point where it’s very embarrassing, particularly to see the way the team is playing.”
Not optimistic at all about the immediate future, Ambrose feels the West Indies board should ease the regulations and bring those players back that have earned the T20 team major success.
“We have to get those players back into Test cricket by easing our regulations that say, ‘You cannot play for West Indies if you do not play in our domestic competitions’. I’m not saying they should just come straight back from, say, the IPL and walk into the Test team, but there needs to be a compromise,” Ambrose wrote.
There’s still some talent in the region that could lead to a resurgence, Ambrose believes. “Yet, we do have enough talent to see a resurgence of West Indian cricket.
“Look at someone like Alzarri Joseph, who came out of the last under-19 World Cup a star. Of course, he won’t be able to just jump into international cricket and be a success. We have to give the young man a chance to grow,” he emphasised.
