West Indies National Cricket Team

The West Indies won the first two Cricket World Cups and later became the only men's side to win the T20 World Cup twice before India matched it — a record of white-ball success spanning four decades.

The West Indies played its first Test at Lord's in 1928 and its first Test victory came in 1930. The team's identity was forged after the Second World War by three batters born within a few miles and a few months of one another in Barbados: Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott — the three Ws.

In 1950 the West Indies won a Test series in England for the first time, a result celebrated across the Caribbean and in Britain's Caribbean communities as far more than a sporting achievement. A decade later, Worrell became the first black man appointed as full-time captain of the West Indies, a landmark in the region's cricket and its politics.

Sir Garfield Sobers followed — a left-handed batter who could bowl fast, orthodox spin and wrist spin, and is still widely called the greatest all-round cricketer of all time. In 1958, aged 21, he scored 365 not out against Pakistan, a world record that stood for 36 years.

Under Clive Lloyd, the West Indies became the most dominant team in the sport's history. Lloyd's response to a heavy defeat in Australia in 1975–76 was to build an attack of four genuinely fast bowlers and bowl them in relentless rotation — a strategy that no batting side of the era could withstand.

The names still carry menace: Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, and later Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. Between 1980 and 1995 the West Indies did not lose a single Test series — fifteen years of unbroken supremacy, including a 5–0 blackwash of England in 1984 and another in 1985–86.

With the bat, Sir Viv Richards defined the era's attitude. Never wearing a helmet, he scored what was then the fastest Test century in 56 balls and batted with a swagger that made him the most feared batter of his generation.

As the great team faded, one batter carried West Indies cricket almost alone. Brian Lara holds records that remain unbroken decades later.

In April 1994 he scored 375 against England in Antigua, passing Sobers' Test record. Seven weeks later he made 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham — still the highest score in first-class cricket. When Matthew Hayden took his Test record in 2003, Lara reclaimed it in April 2004 with 400 not out, again against England in Antigua, becoming the only man to score a Test quadruple century.

His 153 not out against Australia in Barbados in 1999, guiding the West Indies to a one-wicket win, is regularly named among the greatest Test innings ever played.

The shortest format gave the West Indies a second age of success, built on power hitting that suited Caribbean cricket perfectly.

2012: The West Indies beat Sri Lanka by 36 runs in the final in Colombo, with Marlon Samuels scoring 78 from 56 balls in a low-scoring match, and Darren Sammy lifting the trophy.

2016: In Kolkata, the West Indies needed 19 runs from the final over of the final against England. Carlos Brathwaite hit Ben Stokes for four consecutive sixes to win it with two balls to spare — one of the most famous finishes in cricket. Samuels again top-scored with 85 not out, and the West Indies became the first men's side to win two T20 World Cups.

The West Indies had also won the 2004 Champions Trophy at The Oval, chasing down England's total with the last pair at the crease.

West Indies cricket has faced serious difficulties in the longer format. Disputes between players and the board, the pull of global T20 leagues on the region's best athletes, and the challenge of funding a team drawn from more than a dozen territories have all taken a toll.

The low point came in 2023, when the West Indies — winners of the first two World Cups — failed to qualify for the 50-over World Cup for the first time. The side remains a genuine force in T20 cricket, where Caribbean players are in demand in every franchise league in the world, and much of the region's development work is now focused on converting that talent back into Test and ODI success.

As of the ICC rankings published in late August 2026, the West Indies is ranked seventh in T20 internationals, the format in which the side remains most competitive.

Roston Chase has captained the West Indies in international cricket during 2026. Rankings change as new series are played; the figure above reflects the ICC standings published in late August 2026.

How many World Cups have the West Indies won?

The West Indies won the first two Cricket World Cups, in 1975 and 1979, and the T20 World Cup twice, in 2012 and 2016.

Is the West Indies a country?

No. The West Indies cricket team represents a group of Caribbean nations and territories including Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, and several others, competing together as one side.

What is the highest individual score in Test cricket?

Brian Lara's 400 not out for the West Indies against England in Antigua in April 2004. Lara is the only player to have scored a Test quadruple century.

How long were the West Indies unbeaten in Test series?

The West Indies went 15 years without losing a Test series, from 1980 to 1995 — the longest such run in the history of the game.

Who hit four sixes to win the 2016 T20 World Cup?

Carlos Brathwaite, who struck four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes in the final over of the final against England in Kolkata.