'Players using team as stepping stone to get contracts,' laments former West Indies great Lara

West Indies great Brian Lara thinks that 'contract cricket' is causing the downfall of the current team. The comments come after West Indies were bowled out for 27 in Barbados Test against Australia in the second innings - one of the lowest totals in a Test innings and definitely their lowest of all time. West Indies also lost the three-Test series 0-3 at home despite being in strong positions at times in all three matches. The performance is, however, not a shocker as West Indies have been the poor performers for years on the trot now but getting all out at 27 is a new low even for them.

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“We played first class cricket and some of us even played county cricket to try to get into the West Indies team," Lara said while talking on the cricket podcast Stick To Cricket. “We are now using the West Indies team as a stepping stone, as a stage for us to get, you know, contracts around. And that is not a fault of the player," he added.

Former England player David Lloyd, who was also present at the podcast, also criticised cricket's Big Three for the money distribution. "The big three, they take all the money. England, Australia, England take all the money. They get the big broadcast deals. You’ve got to have a more even distribution to allow West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka to compete," Lloyd said.

West Indies lost the first Test in Bridgetown by 159 runs during the chase of 301. They failed to capitalize despite bowling Australia out for 180 in the first innings of the match. In the second Test, West Indies failed to chase down 277 and lost the match by 133 runs. They had a chance to take lead in first innings but managed only 253 in reply of Australia's 286.