FORMER Australian coach John Buchanan has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to launch a dramatic “intervention” to save West Indian cricket.

Buchanan believes the West Indies [ Images ] are “crying out for help” and has urged the International Cricket Council to step in with a rapid-fire injection of funds, manpower and other resources.

“The ICC must intervene in West Indian cricket… it is a massive job but a strong West Indian team is essential for the future of world cricket,” The Courier Mail quoted Buchanan as saying.

“They need to work out how all the problems there can best be attacked over the shortest period of time… even if the ICC diverts resources away from other countries. The West Indies have been crying out for help over a long period of time. It is a major concern that the performance and the consistency of the Test side has been so inconsistent and abysmal,” he added.

The West Indies are in a shambolic state on and off the field, having won just two of their past 40 Tests dating back to mid-2005.

They have also been torn apart by a recent players’ strike and were barely competitive when they were flogged in the first Test at the Gabba.

However the underlying problem is the cricket infrastructure in the Caribbean, with ramshackle training facilities, poor grounds and curators, a woeful domestic structure and a lack of quality coaches and administrators.

Buchanan says the warning signs have been there for ages. He does not advocate the ICC stripping the West Indian board of its control but claims the ICC must have a “major say” in the direction of Caribbean cricket.