Caribbean cricket fans, annoyed by seemingly preventable stumbles and careless missteps as West Indies lost by 109 runs to Pakistan in the second of a two-Test series at Sabina Park in Kingston earlier this week, had some consolation.

Seventh-ranked West Indies had actually beaten the fifth-ranked visitors in thrilling fashion by just one wicket in the first Test.

That meant the series — played in what is now the customary bio-secure environment induced by the COVID-19 crisis — ended 1-1. It also meant the West Indies are off the mark with 12 points in the recently opened 2021-2023 ICC World Test Championships.

As has become the usual story, West Indian fast bowlers excelled for the most part while their batsmen were disappointing.

All told, the Caribbean side came away from its eight Test matches this year with mixed feelings. Readers may recall that in Test matches the West Indies started 2021 in encouraging fashion as a supposedly under-strength squad beat hosts Bangladesh 2-0. This was after several first-choice players, including then Captain Mr Jason Holder, declined to tour the Asian country.

West Indies, led by Mr Kraigg Brathwaite, then drew with visiting Sri Lanka 0-0 in a two-Test series in Antigua before being demolished by South Africa 0-2 in another two-match series in St Lucia.

A highly anticipated three-Test series against visiting England is now set for early next year. By then, hopefully, proactive efforts will be made to resolve some of the more obvious problems — not least the top-order batting. Presumably, every effort will be made by Cricket West Indies, in collaboration with regional governments, to organise a four-day tournament of some sort later this year, even in the face of the current health crisis.

No four-day, first-class cricket has been played in the Carib bean since early 2020 because of COVID-19. The situation has presented major problems for players as they seek to improve their game, and also for regional selectors who need to assess available talent.

In the Twenty20 (T20) format it’s a different story for West Indies c hief s elector Mr Roger Harper, Coach Mr Phil Simmons, and Captain Mr Kieron Pollard as they explore their options ahead of the T20 World Cup scheduled for the United Arab Emirates and Oman later this year.

Not only have they been able to assess West Indies players during white-ball cricket against visiting teams, but the franchise tournament, the Caribbean Premier league (CPL), now in its ninth edition, started this week with all the leading West Indies players on show.

The 2021 CPL, set to last three weeks, is being hosted by St Kitts and Nevis at Warner Park in Basseterre.

A number of the world’s leading T20 players from across the globe have come for the CPL despite the inevitable stress of biosecure arrangements.

Pleasingly, the authorities in St Kitts and Nevis have had the confidence to reward those fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by allowing them entry to the CPL games.

Regrettably, such is the alarm triggered by the current COVID-19 case surge in Jamaica, local authorities declined the opportunity to similarly reward fully vaccinated cricket lovers during the recent Test series in Kingston.