Roston Chase Says Finances, Infrastructure Hurting West Indies Cricket

Roston Chase Says Finances, Infrastructure Hurting West Indies Cricket (Image Source: Twitter)

West Indies skipper Roston Chase on Saturday bemoaned Caribbean cricket's finances and poor infrastructure following a crushing defeat to India in the first Test. The visitors went down by an innings and 140 runs inside three days in Ahmedabad after their batting flopped twice.

West Indies were bowled out for 162 and 146 on a pitch where the hosts made 448-5 declared including three centuries.

It was another demoralising performance and result for the West Indies, who are a pale shadow of the team that once ruled world cricket.

"There is obviously a struggle in the Caribbean for finances, so whatever help we can get, if they are planning to get the help," Chase told reporters.

"I hope that we do get it, so that we could strengthen the infrastructure for the cricket."

He added: "I think the systems in the Caribbean are a bit poor in terms of training facilities and stuff.

"But I'm not using that as an excuse or something to hide behind the poor performances that we've been putting up lately."

West Indies were swept 3-0 at home by Australia this year and were bowled out for 27 in the third match -- the second-lowest score in Test history.

In another setback, their T20 team recently lost a three-match series to Nepal.

In the five-day format, West Indies batsmen have struggled to convert starts into bigger scores with Justin Greaves and Alick Athanaze scoring 32 and 38 in the first and second innings.

"The pitches in the Caribbean are not really batsman friendly, so guys don't really bat for long periods and score those big scores," Chase said.

"The outfields in the Caribbean are really slow, so when you hit the ball in the gaps and you think you have four, you probably end up struggling to get two.

"Those are just some of the problems that we're faced with in the Caribbean."