AFTER sun and sand, the West Indies Test cricket team may be the best known symbol of the English-speaking Caribbean. From 1980 to 1995, the side was unbeaten in 29 consecutive series it played. The Windies’ success helped forge a sense of unity among the 16 countries and dependencies the team represents, paving the way for other joint efforts like Caricom, a regional organisation. Viv Richards, a captain of the glory days, called the side, hyperbolically, “the only sporting team of African descent that has been able to win repeatedly against all international opposition,” bringing “joy to our people.”

But these are joyless days. On December 10th-12th the Windies lost a Test match to Australia by an innings and 212 runs, one of the most lopsided defeats in history. Since June 2000 they have won just 14 Test matches and lost 81 against the top eight countries—a record so miserable that the team’s very survival is now in question. There is speculation that Trinidad and Tobago will leave the West Indies team and form its own. On November 4th a review by Caricom called the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), which runs the team, “obsolete” and recommended its dissolution.

There is no shortage of theories about why West Indian cricket has declined so precipitously. Globalisation is one culprit. In the 1980s, national Test teams were seen as the pinnacle of the sport. But the advent of for-profit domestic club leagues playing shorter Twenty20 (T20) games, particularly the Indian Premier League (IPL), has lured players away from Test cricket. Competition from T20 has hit the West Indies particularly hard. The WICB pays far lower salaries than rivals do, encouraging Caribbean players to jump to club teams. Moreover, the WICB’s home season is at the same time as the IPL’s, forcing players to choose between employers. Six of the Windies’ leading players are now in Australia—competing for domestic T20 clubs rather than their Test side.

The WICB is guilty of self-inflicted wounds. In 2014 the Windies withdrew from a tour of India to protest lower salaries. Coaches routinely disagree with the WICB over the selection of players. And its Byzantine structure has made even simple tasks, like scheduling matches, difficult.

These errors matter. But the main explanation for the Windies’ collapse is that their golden age was unsustainable. Three of the world’s six leading Test sides are from rich countries (England, Australia and New Zealand). Two more (India and Pakistan) have gigantic populations. Some decline was probably inevitable.

With reform, the Windies can arrest their fall. Some progress has been made: the domestic league was recently strengthened. It will offer 95 professional contracts to employ players year-round, rather than for six months or so. The WICB has vowed to avoid conflict with the IPL.

But without more money, victories will be sparse. Control of revenue from international cricket lies with the International Cricket Council (ICC). In 2014 the sport’s three economic titans (India, England and Australia) forced through changes to the ICC that gave them more revenue than all other members combined. The result: the giants may soon have no one to play against but each other.