The tall deadly bowlers, the epitome of batting, the once World beaters - West Indies are a very popular team in World Cricket. From the famous four bowlers to the big batting guns, the Windies were arguably the Giants of the sport. Even though they are facing a slump in recent times, many fans and experts love to see the Men in Maroon step onto the green in the hope that they keep the entertainment tempo high. But not many would be knowing the fact that West Indies are actually no country on the world map.
What is West Indies? Why do they play cricket?
West Indies is not a country but a subregion in North America comprising 13 different island nations and 18 dependencies. The term took birth when Christopher Columbus went to these islands. Later the Europeans started using the term West Indies after the first voyage in 1492-1493 to separate the term from Indies (India) and East Indies.
Like many other countries, the British also ruled West Indies. In the 1880s, the first combined team of West Indies travelled to Canada and USA in 1880s. Notably, in the 1890s teams were formed from various islands of the region to play visiting English sides. They also used to tour England. Notably, in 1926 the West Indies Cricket Board along with the Board of India and New Zealand were inducted into the old name of the International Cricket Council - the Imperial Cricket Council.
West Indies Cricket team represents Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands among others.
West Indies played their first official Test match in 1928 against England at Lord's. The whites dominated the West Indies teams till 1950 before Frank Worrell was named the first Black captain in 1960. Garry Sobers came later and these players set the stone for West Indies. Clive Lloyd took Windies to greater heights with World Cup wins in 1975 and 1979.
Flags and anthem
As West Indies is no country then a common question would be which flag the team play under and what is their anthem. The Windies cricket has a flag featuring a palm tree and cricket stumps on a sunny island. This flag was taken from 1999 onwards. Before this, there was another flag in the usage. There was an insignia with a cabbage tree and an island but there were stumps and no sun on it. The background was maroon.
Notably, there is a cricket anthem for the team. "Rally 'Round the West Indies" written by David Rudder beats the hearts of all the players with pride when it enters the ears.
West Indies take on India
Now under the leadership of Kraigg Brathwaite, West Indies will take on India in the new World Test Championship in a two-match Test series. The Windies cricket is down and facing a big slump. They recently failed to qualify for the ODI World Cup and will now be looking for some redemption. They have a strong bowling line-up comprising Jason Holder, Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel. A few youngsters like Alick Athanaze, and Tagenarine Chanderpaul would like to keep themselves going. The first Test begins on July 12 in Dominica.
