West Indies under fire

The same old story ... another West Indies slide underway in Barbados © Getty Images

West Indies' defeat at Bridgetown - or rather than manner of it - has attracted a predictable backlash from some elements of the media. South Africa won the third Test by an innings inside four days, and that was too much for some.

In the Daily Nation, Michael Holding blamed a lack of discipline. "It's something that's sadly lacking in our game," he said. "We keep on going through the same scenario and we are not getting results. Our current team needs to be more competitive, but it all starts off the field. We are getting a lot of talk but not much action."

Tony Cozier pointed out that flawed techniques were also to blame. "South Africa batted with deliberate care and attention. If any of their batsmen has been dismissed in the same way twice, I haven't noticed it. There are the attributes of any successful team. And vice-versa, as West Indies have yet again demonstrated.

"It is unprofessional and indisciplined, two words that sum up the reason for the decline to the bottom of the pile among the genuine Test teams."

Off-field issues have been a cause of debate for quite some time. Last season, several West Indies players were slammed in the media after they were seen partying on hours after a heavy defeat by England. Stories of poor discipline and unprofessional behaviour have dogged the side for a number of years.

And that, allied to the problems with sponsorship which blighted the early part of this series, had, Holding said, taken its toll. "Morale in the side must be quite low. Coming here and being totally outplayed ... they have to be rock bottom or even lower."

Joel Garner, another West Indies fast bowling legend, echoed those thoughts. "The players who take the field are not the only ones at fault in West Indies cricket," he told the paper. "The game has been going downhill for years and no one has decided to take the bull by the horns. All the emphasis seems to be on the administration, not on the field."

And Patrick Rampersad, a Trinidad & Tobago board member, told the Trinidad Guardian that there had to be changes. "They are playing with the stars and losing, so my thinking is to bring in the youngsters and lose with them. At least they would start the development process."