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1994. The iPhone was a mere flicker in the imagination of Steve Jobs, professional T20 cricket was still almost a decade from inception and Sachin Tendulkar celebrated his 21st birthday.
In Test cricket, West Indies had overcome England 3-1 on home soil and earned a credible 1-1 draw on a visit to India.
Comment was barely passed on these results and if anything, the fact they had lost two Test matches during the year was the bigger story.
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But why would it be worthy of mention?
After all, this was a nation that had gone unbeaten in Test series since an ill-tempered tour of New Zealand in early 1980, which saw them beaten 1-0 by a combination of an inspired Richard Hadlee and some partisan home umpiring.
28 series spanning 14 years followed that acrimonious defeat to the Kiwis.
The West Indies had dominated Test cricket for the best part of three decades with swashbuckling batters and a battery of high-class pace bowlers.
Competing against them was as much about survival as winning.
If you had suggested at the end of 1994 that it would be 32 years until the West Indies would next go a calendar year unbeaten, you’d have been heartily laughed at and enquiries would have been made on your intake of the finest Caribbean rum.
But that is exactly what happened.
The streak was ultimately broken in Spring of 1995 as Australia left the Caribbean with a 2-1 victory and The Frank Worrell Trophy.
This came as no surprise to many keen observers. These were two sides heading in different directions.
The Aussies had steadily rebuilt after a tumultuous period at the end of the 1970’s and early 1980’s.
They now boasted the Waugh twins – somewhere near their peak – a likeable and astute leader in Mark Taylor, Shane Warne’s spin mastery and a tall seam bowler by the name of Glenn McGrath was starting to make his mark.
In contrast, the West Indies had been in gradual decline throughout the 1990’s.
They were facing the perfect storm that many great sporting dynasties encounter, retirement of key players and the conveyor belt of talent starting to slow down.
They could still call upon the record-breaking abilities of Brian Lara, fresh from setting new all-time highest Test and First-Class scores the previous year, as well as world class quicks in Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh.
However, those around them proved to be more enigmatic talents than what had come before.
Whilst an opening act of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes was always going be nigh on impossible to follow, the replacements rarely looked capable of adequately filling their voids.
By the end of the millennium, that decline had gathered pace like an Andy Roberts bouncer.
Four more series defeats followed, three of which were whitewashes.
The most concerning was a 5-0 reverse in South Africa, a result that was repeated less than two years later Down Under.
Sandwiched in between these disastrous tours was a trip to England, where they meekly surrendered the Wisden Trophy for the first time in 31 years.
Their regression showed no signs of slowing down in the turn of the new millennium.
Viewed as the pinnacle of Test cricket for a sustained period, the tables really had turned.
Between November 2003 and May 2005, they played 18 Test matches and won one – against Bangladesh who only became a Test-playing nation in 2000.
This was not in isolation.
Following that win over Test cricket’s new boys, the West Indies would have to wait five years before another series triumph, when they emerged victorious against England following a drab series best remembered for a second innings collapse by the tourists in the first Test at Jamaica.
The new decade brought minor successes, though these were largely against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
They were no longer dining at the top table of international cricket but merely feasting on the scraps.
It would be another ten years until they got one over an established nation, when England once again contrived to lose in the Caribbean.
By this point, interest had waned, crowds had disappeared and Test cricket on the islands was becoming an afterthought.
It is much more nuanced to suggest that the decline in West Indies cricket was solely down to the retirement of key players in quick succession.
While any nation would have struggled to immediately replace those losses, Australia went through a similar phase in the late 2000’s when the likes of Warne, McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer all retired within a short space of time.
After some initial pain, by 2015 they had won a home Ashes series 5-0 and added another World Cup to their collection.
Despite their beauty and popularity with tourists, the Caribbean islands are not affluent nations.
As a result, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is not financially wealthy and able to compete with those boasting greater resources.
The lack of finances has led to poor infrastructure within the game across the islands.
The 2007 World Cup was seen as the remedy to this, only for the tournament to prove an expensive flop for the host nation with sparse crowds and a tournament bloated in length.
There is a belief that hosting duties cost the WICB more than it gained.
Compared to their peers across the globe, West Indian cricketers have often been poorly recompensed.
The constant expansion of franchise cricket has seen many modern-day Caribbean talent become T20 assets and subsequently prioritise short-form riches over the longer format grind.
And who can blame them?
With losing comes instability, and the administration of West Indies has seen plenty of that in recent years.
Changes in chairs, coaches and captains have been frequent and at times, without logic or explanation.
When their period of dominance began in the mid 1970’s, many Caribbean islands were coming out of colonialism and had gained independence.
They wanted to show the world who they were and what they could achieve.
There was great pride in representing the West Indies and the captaincy of Clive Lloyd harnessed raw talent, whilst quelling inter-island rivalries.
That era has long passed.
With no lucrative contracts on offer from the WICB, an increasing lack of public interest and a domestic four-day competition that saw a total of 11 games played in 2026 (meaning some teams played as little as three games), it is not difficult to understand why red-ball cricket is not capturing the imagination.
Despite all these constraints, West Indies have managed to win two T20 World Cup’s in 2012 and 2016.
This exemplifies that they can still produce top-level cricketers to compete with the rest of the world.
They have provided the game with legends of the T20 format such as Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell to name a few.
The current crop of internationals including Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein are all gun cricketers and highly sought-after commodities in franchise cricket.
However, many of these household names – like Pollard or Pooran – have never represented West Indies in Test cricket.
White-ball captain Shai Hope has been another standout performer in recent times and is no stranger to the Test arena, though his sensational and historic effort on the white-ball tour of India last month – two centuries in each of the ODI and T20 series (three of which unbeaten) – has surely seen his stock on the franchise circuit skyrocket.
Their 50-over performances have been similarly disastrous as some of the aforementioned Test match outings.
Notably, failure to qualify for the World Cup in 2023 and once again resting their hopes of progressing from the Qualifier event if they are to feature at the 2027 edition in Southern Africa.
There were some positives in their recent series defeat to India, where they posted their highest-ever ODI total (405-7) and completed their highest-ever ODI chase (352-5), albeit in batting-friendly conditions.
They are evidently no longer a formidable force in T20 either, having not reached the knockout stages in their last four attempts and were even sent home at the preliminary stage in 2022.
Nevertheless, it is easy to see where their priorities lie.
Despite their 50-over woes, West Indies have experienced a slight turnaround in Test match form this decade.
There was the almost customary home victory against England in 2022, which was followed by a 2-0 win against a much-improved Bangladesh that same year.
Their most eye-catching performance was a drawn series in Australia in early 2024, when Shamar Joseph inspired a famous eight-run victory at The Gabba.
Though some indifferent results followed, it was somewhat surprising when experienced opening batter Kraigg Brathwaite stood down as captain, despite credible draws with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
His replacement, Roston Chase, also raised eyebrows, given he had not played Test cricket for over two years and failure to win a Test in his first eight attempts did little to temper those questioning his suitability for the role.
Since then, however, his side have lost only one of their next six outings, with home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan ending with a win and a draw respectively.
Many that pointed to the weakness of their opposition can have no such grumbles at their next opponents as they finished this year with an impressive win in Bangladesh, their hosts ranked number five in the world and fresh off a famous Test win in Australia.
Chase has impressed with his steady leadership and has begun to silence the doubters with his own form, averaging in excess of 50 with the bat in 2026 and compiling a Test-best 194 along the way.
Whisper it quietly, but the West Indies appear to have developed a bit of grit under Chase and head coach Daren Sammy, who was the last captain to deliver significant on-field success.
Whilst frailties still lie within, their upturn in fortunes has come from contributions throughout.
Wicketkeeper Amir Jangoo has proven to be a strong find since making his international debut in late 2024, establishing himself with averages above 50 in both Test and ODI cricket.
In June this year, the 29-year-old scored his maiden Test century (and a double at that) against Sri Lanka in a Test record sixth-wicket partnership worth 401 alongside Chase, where West Indies also surpassed 500 in a Test innings for the first time since 2013.
Elsewhere, Justin Greaves has delivered returns that would be the envy of any all-rounder, with 400 runs and 12 wickets across six tests to earn the West Indies Test Player of the Year award for 2026.
23-year-old batter Kevin Wickham made twin fifties on debut in the recent second Test against Bangladesh, earning a call-up for the rested run machine Hope who West Indies will be hoping can replicate his blistering white-ball form upon return.
Jomel Warrican’s superb exploits against the Tigers showed that they do have a frontline spin option able to make the most of turning pitches, ably supported by the off-spin from his captain.
In Greaves, Joseph and Jayden Seales, they possess a probing seam attack, with Kemar Roach still an able competitor at the age of 38 and Alzarri Joseph also to welcome back from injury.
Most impressive perhaps has been the manner of their results.
They have put big totals on the board, individuals have reigned in their natural attacking instincts when the situation required and demonstrated an ability to recover from setbacks.
They have also bowled as a unit and adapted effectively to conditions.
Generally, throughout 2026, West Indies have looked a much more disciplined and difficult to beat outfit.
Not compliments they’ll be used to hearing over the last three decades when Test cricket, at times, seemed more like an unwanted chore.
The problems away from the pitch are still apparent though, and their home Tests against Pakistan were much derided due to the backdrop of empty stands.
It was sad to see what used to be a colourful and vibrant support, simply not present.
However, such low numbers at Test matches are unfortunately a more widespread issue outside of England and Australia, as evident in the first two matches of the recent series in South Africa.
On the field, tougher challenges lie ahead.
Chase was keen to cool down expectations at the end of the Bangladesh series, commenting that his team were simply “moving in the right direction.”
If they can continue to do that, some of their problems may just start to resolve themselves.
After all, a winning team is never short on interest.
Whilst talk around Test cricket being on its deathbed continues to cast a shadow, it appears that there could be life in West Indies yet.
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