Optimism, Pessimism

Kumar Sangakkara, one of the finest cricketers on God's earth, sounded sanguine and optimistic when interviewed immediately after Sri Lanka's comfortable victory over West Indies in Guyana. He pointed to the versatility of his team's bowling attack and the quality of their batting, and was right to do so.

West Indies, though, have a lot less to be happy about, as their third consecutive defeat brought them even closer to elimination from their own World Cup than they were before (and that was pretty close).

This, by Simon Wilde, indicates that the side's poor form on the field isn't all that those with the future of West Indies cricket at heart need to be concerned about.

Having never been to Antigua or any of the other countries which make up the 'West Indies' I don't know what it used to be like and I don't know what it's like now. But, if Wilde's piece is an accurate reflection of what's going on on the island which gave us Richards, Richardson, Roberts and Ambrose, it's very sad indeed.