The West Indies national cricket team is formed by 14 different associations. Recently stepping down as ICC Chairman, Greg Barclay raised a thought-provoking question: is now the time to break up the West Indies national team and form separate teams for each association?
Barclay made these remarks during an interview with British media outlet The Telegraph while the New Zealand-England Test match in Christchurch was ongoing on December 1. The Telegraph published the interview on their website yesterday.
Alongside discussing several other issues, Barclay expressed his concerns about the current state of West Indies cricket. The team has not only seen a decline in performance but Cricket West Indies (CWI) has also been facing financial struggles for several years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the ICC’s financial model for 2024–2027, CWI will not even receive 5% of the ICC’s revenue.
Barclay stated, “Look at the West Indies. I love what they have done for the game. But given the state they are in now, can they survive? Is it time for them to split into individual islands?”
Barclay, who completed his term as ICC Chairman on November 30 and was succeeded by former BCCI secretary Jay Shah, elaborated on the challenges faced by the West Indies team. He said, “The question is, can they (West Indies) sustain Test cricket? Their financial situation is so dire that balancing income and expenditure has become extremely difficult. If you think about it, apart from cricket, there’s nothing else that unites their islands. Yet, despite that, what they have achieved together as West Indies in cricket is extraordinary.”
Barclay also pointed out how Caribbean islands participate individually in other sporting events, which he believes could hint at a possible future for cricket. He remarked, “In multiple sports events like the Olympics, we see these islands competing individually. Last year, they played cricket in the Asian Games in China. There’s also the African Games, which featured cricket for the first time, and they want to play in the Pan American Games too. So, what happens to West Indies in such multi-sport events? For instance, in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, only Barbados represented their region. Is this a small hint at what could happen in cricket’s future? I don’t know.”
Barclay also questioned whether retaining Test status is in the best interest of West Indies cricket. Drawing parallels with Ireland, he argued for structural changes, saying, “Some countries are trying to play Test cricket, but perhaps they shouldn’t. Why is Ireland playing Test cricket? Whatever funding they receive from the ICC should be invested at the grassroots level to grow the number of players and competitions. Shorter formats are the only way to bring kids into the game. They’re not going to spend an entire day playing red-ball cricket on a Saturday or Sunday—it won’t happen. Trying to make that happen is pointless. Every time they play a Test match, they lose a huge amount of money. What’s the point of that? Zimbabwe is another example—they lose money on broadcast deals. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Barclay also suggested rethinking ICC’s structural and financial model. While ICC has 12 Full Members (Test-playing nations) and over 90 Associate Members, the majority of ICC’s revenue is distributed among the 12 Full Members. Barclay believes this system needs to change, proposing that revenue distribution be entirely performance-based.
“West Indies might argue, why would we split from a Full Member to 14 separate associations (if the islands divide)? But to run things effectively, this is something they might have to consider. Cricket is a unique sport. On one side, you have Full Member countries, and on the other, you have Associate nations. If you dissolve these tiers and move forward, some might rise to the top, while others fall to 120th. There will be ups and downs. Rankings should be based on both on-field and off-field performances. The higher you climb, the more revenue you earn, and the more attention you receive. If you don’t perform, you go down,” Barclay concluded.
