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The decline of West Indian cricket has been well documented since the record rating they achieved back in 1986 of 1236 points. While their rating has been in decline since that time, it was not until 1995 that their rating went into free fall.
During the period from 1995 until now, there have been two constants. Firstly their rating has usually fallen sharply whenever playing away from home; and secondly, they have had an almost a continual run of home series results that have marginally lifted their rating.
The West Indians have lost only two series at home since 1973. Those losses were to Australia in 1995 and South Africa in 2001. The 2-1 win over India in this series has effectively continued a long-standing trend. Conversely, the West Indians won their first series since 1995 in Zimbabwe last year.
The West Indians did not achieve their victory against India the easy way. After a draw in the first Test they lost the second by 37 runs. The home side levelled the series in the third Test with a ten-wicket victory. A draw in the fourth Test set up a decider in the final Test.
West Indies has now drawn level with seventh placed New Zealand on 1017 points. As a result, the series between these two nations in late June will become a battle for seventh place.
Either New Zealand or West Indies could overtake India and claim sixth place if they win both of the scheduled Tests in that series. There is no chance that they could fall below ninth placed Zimbabwe in the foreseeable future as they enjoy a massive 106-point lead over the struggling African team.
For the West Indies, the most important thing they can draw out of this series was that they were able to win while Brian Lara managed only a moderate average of 29 runs. For far too long the West Indian batsmen have been overly reliant on Lara. The pressure on him to score heavily has had a telling effect.
However, the West Indies are not going to be able to build a sustained period of success until their tail enders learn the disciple to support their batsmen. During this series the West Indians took the old saying 'six out all out' to absurd new levels.
The Indian tail enders displayed a similar lack of conviction when it was their turn to bat. Again, India is winless on an overseas tour. Their only success in recent times was the one off Test in Bangladesh in 2000. India has not won a series away from home since their tour to Sri Lanka in 1993.
India retains sixth position in the ratings after this series, however, their lead over New Zealand and West Indies has been slashed to an uncomfortably small twelve points.
India's rating had been trending upwards over the last two years. However, India's revival seems to have stalled and their rating is easing back downwards. As mentioned previously, both West Indies and New Zealand have the opportunity to overtake India in later in June.
India currently has a very talented batting line up centred around Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman. However, all their batsmen other than Dravid and Tendulkar struggle to make runs off the subcontinent.
Their bowlers also struggle when away from home, primarily because the approach they use in India simply does not suit foreign pitches. If the abundance of spinners strike a pitch that will not turn then their lack of genuinely fast bowlers is exacerbated.
India may need to seriously consider 'placing' many of their players in foreign domestic competitions - perhaps in Australia, South Africa and the Caribbean rather than England - to gain the necessary experience. It would appear that until a placing exercise or some other scheme is implemented that they will continue to struggle on tour.
The latest Test cricket ratings are: 1. Australia (1216); 2. South Africa (1133); 3. Pakistan (1079); 4. Sri Lanka (1049); 5. England (1047); 6. India (1029); 7. New Zealand (1017); 7. West Indies (1017); 9. Zimbabwe (911); 10. Bangladesh (838).
