Windies must face the music

Firdoes Moonda: "For 10 long years we ruled the cricket world."

Those are the opening words of the cricket anthem that the West Indies sing before every match. It's a tune by top calypsonian David Rudder that harks back to a time when cricket, and life, was starting to deteriorate in the Caribbean.

It was written in 1988, the year after the West Indies failed to make it to the knockout stage of the cricket World Cup in India. They were still a powerful force, beating England 4-0 in a Test series away from home, but there was a feeling that their powers were waning.

"Michael Holding falls in the heat of the battle / Michael shoulda left long time!" are the second and third lines of the second verse. It became part of a chorus that resonated through cricket circles on the islands: the blame game. It was the way they dealt with slipping from being the world's best to being the laughing stock of the game.

Still, there is hope in the song, hope that is sung three times in every chorus: "Pretty soon the runs are going to flow like water."

That may be what the West Indies are hoping for at this World Cup. They've done enough to get to the quarterfinals, sweeping past Bangladesh, the Netherlands and Ireland, but that's all they have done.

The West Indies have not beaten a top Test team since June 2009, when they achieved an eight-wicket victory over India, and they will need a repeat, or three, of such a performance to make a statement at this World Cup.

There's a stirring expectation that something of that nature might happen after they came close against England and India, but then choked. Their batting collapses have been spectacular: four for three against England and eight for 34 against India.

The faith is not gone, though.

"We're getting close, so close and if we win just one big game maybe it can start a roll," said team manager Phillip Spooner ahead of the quarterfinal clash with Pakistan.

Though their skills need a fair amount of polishing, they have managed to get their attitudes right and they are showing the kind of heart last seen in West Indian cricket around the time that song was written.

They don't sing the 1988 version anymore; it is a little too gloomy for the times. Rudder agreed to rework the song so that it is more current and reflects some hope.

The lyrics are unGoogle-able for now, but one of the stanzas makes reference to Haiti, the Caribbean nation that was wrecked by an earthquake early last year, and the courage that emerged amid such devastation. It's that kind of belief that the West Indies have to conjure up - not just to progress further in this World Cup, but to start the rebuilding process to become a competitive cricketing nation again.