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Darren Sammy was first man from St Lucia to play international cricket and last week he achieved another first by becoming West Indies captain. The new skipper has been talking a good game, promising to be bold and frank and to bring the joy back to Caribbean cricket. But the reality is that he has one of the most difficult cricket jobs in the world, a job that begins next month when he leads a mixture of jaded veterans and callow youths on a tour of Sri Lanka.

His appointment was, at first glance, a surprising one. A dogged seam-bowler, he has played just eight Tests and, although he does have a healthy bowling average of 27.74, 12 of his 27 wickets have come against Bangladesh. He has won praise for his work rate and determination and no doubt earned much credit with the WICB when he refused to join his fellow players by striking during the Bangladesh series back in 2009, but still, it is surely too early in his Test career to elevate him to captain.

And yet, on closer inspection, who else could the WICB pick? The previous captain Chris Gayle and his most likely heir, Dwayne Bravo have refused to sign their central contracts. Of the other veterans, Ramnaresh Sarwan has been dropped and Shivnarine Chanderpaul has shown himself not to be cut out for leadership. Brendan Nash was the only other option, but there are, unfortunately, historical reasons why the WICB might be reluctant to appoint a white captain.

The decisions of Gayle and Bravo not to commit themselves to international duty is another blow to Caribbean cricket and, by implication, for the smaller cricket boards around the world. England and Australia, with their financial resources, might be able to keep their best players committed to the cause, but the likes of New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Bangladesh will find it increasingly difficult in future to stop their most talented players becoming freelancers.

The situation is particularly desperate though in the West Indies, where the WICB is engaged in almost permanent struggle with the players association, the WIPA and has an old fashioned approach to dealing with the modern professional, paying even its star players a pittance by international standards, whilst treating them in a high-handed fashion. All of this against a background of a domestic cricket infrastructure that is in a state of galloping disrepair.

It will be little surprise, therefore, if the next generation of West Indian cricketers choose to become free agents and the cream of Caribbean talent will only be sporadically available for international duty. It would be a shame for world cricket, but a disaster for the West Indies if their promising young players, such as batsmen Adrian Barath and Darren Bravo, all-rounder Andre Russell and quick bowlers Kemar Roach and Nelon Pascal were only seen in domestic Twenty20 tournaments.

Against this background, short term expectations are set at the usual low level. A tour of Sri Lanka is one of the toughest on the circuit and it is hard to see Sammy's men having any success in the three match Test series, though they might have more joy in the five one-day internationals and Twenty20 match that follow. And there is the opportunity to make some progress here. If the youngsters play well and Sammy starts to look the part, it will have been a relatively successful tour. They will also have gained vital experience of South Asian conditions ahead of next year's World Cup, a tournament for which they are currently priced at 22.0 outsiders.

By Andrew Hughes

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