Austalia vs West Indies: Carl Hooper's comments summarise the precarious situation of the West Indies
The two-Test series between Australia and West Indies has been one to forget for the visiting side.
The West Indies were dismissed for 77 in the final innings.No one was expecting the West Indies to come into Australia's backyard and give them hiding to nothing. But most people expected the team to show some fight and character.
Instead, they rolled over and gave Australia the easiest of series whitewashes ever – even getting dismissed for 77 in the final innings of the series.
And it is this display that led former West Indies captain Carl Hooper to lambast the team, saying they continue to go lower – despite having supposedly hit rock bottom.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">When a member of your small community isn't doing well, you don't abandon them. You support them. Don't forget WI beat England in a Test series earlier this year. There's no shortage of talent and potential. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUSvWI?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AUSvWI</a> <a href="https://t.co/oXmcQISJUC">https://t.co/oXmcQISJUC</a></p>— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) <a href="https://twitter.com/WasimJaffer14/status/1601924685134168065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
"No, I don't think we have hit rock bottom because every time I think we have, we keep going lower," Hooper told ABC after the Test.
"It's getting more and more embarrassing – I'm hurt today. I've never played in a West Indies side that has been bowled out for under 100. Just never.
"I mean your personal pride means you go out and fight. We're not fighting to qualify for major tournaments. How much lower can we go?"
It is worth noting that West Indies are four-time world champions – they won the ICC World Cup in 1975 and 1979 and the T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016.
But they could not qualify for the 2022 T20 World Cup, and their failure led to a raft of changes.
Head coach Phil Simmons was let go, and Nicholas Pooran was asked to give up the white ball captaincy – only a few months after taking over the reins, to begin with.
But such drastic changes are not new to the Windies, whose board has found itself in some form of turmoil since the 1990s, and it has only worsened as time has gone on.
And it is this reason why Hooper believes that change must begin from the top – and led to him calling for a change at administrative level.
"When we were dominant, you hardly knew the directors. Today you've got 16 directors making cricketing decisions," he added.
"Since 1993, we've struggled and, judging from the results, no policies or systems have been implemented that are changing the downward course we're on.
"We've changed captains, we've changed personnel, we've changed coaches – hasn't worked. So maybe let's go a little higher and get people in these positions that can lead us in the right direction."
In many ways, his call is the right one. This West Indies team doesn't lack talent, but they lack a coherent sense of direction and a long-term plan.
That's not something that players can or will drive; their job is to go out and play. Those in charge must take long-term decisions.
And it is clear that they have failed in their remit – and that change is urgently needed at the very top of West Indian cricket.
Otherwise, as Hooper succulently put it, West Indies cricket will keep going lower.