Sport | Cricket
Only Australians play cricket, says Kallicharran
West Indies batting legend Alvin Kallicharran has compared world champions Australia to his invincible Windies side who ruled cricket in the 1970s and 80s, claiming "they are the only nation playing cricket right now".
- By Duane Fonseca, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:30 February 29, 2008
- Former West Indian captain Alvin Kallicharran, who is in the UAE as part of the Lashings team, hailed the Aussies.
- Image Credit: Ahmed Kutty/Gulf News
Dubai: West Indies batting legend Alvin Kallicharran has compared world champions Australia to his invincible Windies side who ruled cricket in the 1970s and 80s, claiming "they are the only nation playing cricket right now".
Kallicharran was part of the West Indies side, which captained by another legend Clive Lloyd, won the inaugural World Cup title in 1975 and defended the trophy four years on. On the other hand, the Aussies have won the World Cup a record four times, including thrice on the trot since 1999.
The Australians have also made it a habit to win virtually everything they've competed for since their breakthrough season of 1999, and Kallicharran feels the situation won't be much different in the years to come because the rest of the world is busy competing for the remainder of the spots on the International Cricket Council's (ICC) rankings.
World Cup winner Kallicharran said: "That West Indies side was really good, but at this point of time we've got to give it to the Australians.
"They are the only nation playing cricket right now, while the rest of the world is fighting with each other. That itself shows the great divide which exists between Australia and the rest of the teams.
"They (Australia) have so many great players right now and that's why you just can't touch them; they're way up there," says the 58-year-old, who briefly replaced Lloyd as captain of the West Indies.
"The entire Aussie team is filled with stars and apart from them you can count the top cricketers in the world on one hand. You still have guys like Sachin Tendulkar, Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene and Jacques Kallis around, so there are a few good players still out there, but they are very few and so unlike Australia.
"I'm not into the West Indies cricket any more. The problem is we have to have a good foundation; a proper set up to compete with the rest of the world."
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