West Indies stock hits all-time low

But after last weekend’s embarrassing defeat, there were tears, glum faces and despair at the Kensington Oval, once an impenetrable fortress for the West Indies. Heaps of post-mortems came from newspaper columnists and writers, asking how the last year’s euphoria could evaporate so quickly.

The West Indies lost its third straight Test against England by eight wickets, after a 94-run second innings in Bridgetown. In the first Test in Kingston, England also humiliated the West Indies by limiting its second innings to a Test-low 47 to take the match by 10 wickets.

Lara had said after last year’s win over Australia that his team had made a crucial break away from the losing habit and toward ‘‘greater things in the future’’.

The ‘‘guys’’ went on to win a home series against Sri Lanka but, once they toured following an idle summer, cracks began to show again. The team just scraped by lowly Zimbabwe before losing 0-3 to South Africa.

Critics blame a lack of professionalism and discipline in the West Indies set up. Successive coaches, managers and captains over the last 12 months have chided players for poor attitude, work ethic and commitment to fitness.

Former manager Ricky Skerritt, who left his post last week, said he had ‘‘been unable to instill in the entire team the fullest understanding of their obligations on and off the field to the people of the West Indies’’.

Selection chairman Viv Richards has backed Lara’s leadership through the May-June Bangladesh series, saying that India faced many of the same problems before New Zealander John Wright became coach. Four years later, the team has become a world force.