Vettori sticks up for West Indies cricket

West Indies' Marlon Samuels, left, walks off the field after being dismissed by Australia's James Pattinson during their cricket test match in Hobart. Photo / AP.

Former Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori has called for critics to lay off the beleaguered West Indies team.

Vettori said yesterday that while the Windies may be badly losing Test matches, their fans are not losing their passion for the game.

Vettori, currently coaching the Brisbane Heat in Australia's Big Bash competition, recently spent a stint playing with the Jamaica Tullawahs in the Caribbean Twenty20 competition.

The West Indies have not beaten decent opposition away from home in two decades but Vettori sensed cricket in the region is still capturing the hearts of the fans.

"If you saw the crowds ... there was a real passion throughout the islands," Vettori told Australian media when quizzed on the state of the game in the Carribean.

"I left with a real affinity for the place - we had a lot of fun and big crowds. You see how positive people are about it. It felt like there was a lot of young kids coming through and it was really important too. They really wanted the country to do well."

West Indian players such as Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy and Dwayne Bravo will be playing in the Big Bash rather than for the West Indies in the Test series against Australia, partially due to a standoff caused by the Windies' inability to provide a clear window for their players to play in the Indian Premier League.

"You want to create the window where the best players are always available," Vettori said.
"The IPL window is one which is important to players and if there is international cricket going on it puts them in a difficult situation."

"You want to see Chris Gayle playing as much Test cricket as he can."

Vettori also played in Shane Warne's legends series in the United States and he left convinced cricket has a future in the region.

"It was huge. A lot bigger than I expected. The crowd sizes were exceptional. It has a future there. If you keep taking the game there and introducing the modern player to the general public it has."