It was over a decade when the Windies batting order has some sort of stability and solidity with the likes of Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Darren Ganga, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Courtney Browne and Ridley Jacobs, all of whom consistently chipped in with runs for the 'Maroon Brigade'.
One would have to really go back in time to check when did the West Indies last won a Test series against a formidable opposition. Leave alone winning abroad, the Windies are even struggling to hold forte against visiting teams on home soil. The ongoing series against India is turning out to be yet another dismal spectacle by the Windies in red ball cricket.
The major reason for Windies plummeting to the bottom of test cricket has been perennial batting woes which do not seem to end. While the Windies have a potent seam bowling unit with Kemar Roach, Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel and Sheldon Cottrell; their batting has been found wanting in cricket's most gruesome and testing form.
Meanwhile, Chris Gayle who had his set of problems with the board became a full fledged limited overs specialist opener and was more often than not overlooked for selection in the limited overs format. All-rounder Dwyane Bravo seemed to have the game suited to Test cricket but choose to ply his trade more in the ODIs and T20s and eventually ran out of favour in the longer form.
The Windies top and middle order has just not been good enough to take on some potent bowling lineups over the past decade. West Indies have not had a settled opening pair in Test cricket for the last four to five seaons. The last Windies pair which seemed to be dependable opening duo was that off Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds, who featured in Test cricket way back in the early 2000s.
There was a time when Kraigg Brathwaite looked to be the man for the job but his form has weaned away in the last couple of seasons. He had partners a plenty but none could prove to their worth donning the whites for the nation. Keiron Powell, Devon Smith, Leon Johnson and Rajendra Chandrika, all had major chinks in their armour and could not last the tough grind of opening in Test cricket.
The Windies middle order lacks mettle and often depends a lot on Shai Hope and Darren Bravo. While the seasoned campaigner Darren Bravo hasn't lived up the enormous expectations bestowed on him, Hope, who has established himself as Windies mainstay in ODIs is yet to find his feat in Test cricket. They had Jermaine Blackwood who flourished for a few seasons but has disappeared into wilderness. One cant forget Marlon Samuels who had a sea-saw career in Test cricket and never quite realized his potential.
New batting talent has come in for sure in the form of Shimron Hetmeyer and Nicholas Pooran but their naturally aggressive stroke making is more suited to ODI cricket rather than Test cricket which demands more resilience and patience. Both Pooran and Hetmeyer haven't exhibited the class and temperament to leave an impression on the longer format. It is an irony that bulk of the run scoring has been done by the lower middle order Jason Holder, Shane Dowrich and Roston Chase .
It is hard to remember how many times has Windies posted 300 or above against quality bowling attacks in Test cricket. If 40 is a benchmark of a good Test average, most of the Windies top order is not even closer to the mark and it sums up the bleak situation which Windies cricket is going through.
It is no hidden secret in Test cricket that batsmen set up wins for the teams and bowlers then come to the fore to finish off matches with devastating spells.If Windies want be serious challengers to the big guns in Test cricket, their batting needs to fire collectively sooner than rather, else they shall continue to be the bashing boys of Test cricket.