Why aren't West Indies producing the great fast bowlers that they did before? Various theories have been put forward in recent years as natural successors to the likes of Roberts, Holding, Garner and Croft proved to be thin on the ground. Is it a natural cycle, or youngsters being weaned off cricket by the pervasive influence of American sports like baseball, which are now screened non-stop in the Caribbean? It's not that, say former West Indies greats Charlie Griffith – a fearsome fast bowler himself in the 1960s – and Desmond Haynes, the former Test opener who's now a senator in Barbados. According to them, it's a matter of diet – they don't think that today's bowlers eat properly.

Speaking exclusively to Wisden.com, Griffith said: "To be a fast bowler you have to work hard, and you have to eat well, and eat good food. Sometimes I wonder if they do those things.

"When I see fast bowlers these days, bowling five overs and saying they're tired and they can't come back – I remember seeing fast bowlers bowl 29 overs in a day! Fast bowlers must have the foundation – if you're building a house and you don't have a good foundation the house is going to fall. I believe that fast bowlers have got to make sure they do the right things."

Haynes echoes Griffith's thoughts, and has a tip for the administrators: "I would like them [the players] to eat properly. Another change I would like to see - no meal allowance for West Indian cricketers. You feed them. We've got to stop these fellers from going to the chefettes and the Kentuckys."

Interviews (C) Wisden Online Ltd. Archive footage (C) Australian Broadcasting Commission. Recent footage (C) Sky Sports.

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