West Indies in 2015 - The Year in Review

In their first assignment of the year, West Indies travelled to South Africa to play a Twenty20 International series and a One-Day International series. The visitors went on to win the T20I series 2-1 to give the fans something to cheer about. This was their first series win in South Africa after they drew the two-match series 1-1 in 2007.Hammered by a troika of centuriesThings didn't get off to an ideal start for Jason Holder in his first series as ODI captain. West Indies were handed a 1-4 hammering by South Africa. However, the most humiliating loss came in the second ODI, in which AB de Villiers raced to a 31-ball century - the fastest in ODI history. South Africa made an astonishing start with Hashim Amla (153) and Rillee Rossouw (128) scoring 247 runs for the first wicket. From there on it was de Villiers show as he left the visitors gasping before he was dismissed for 149 off 44 balls, a mayhem that lasted a little less than an hour.Loss to Ireland in the World Cup

It was the fifth match of the 2015 World Cup and Ireland, the giant killers, were up against West Indies. Ireland had built up a reputation of hunting down the member nations after defeating Pakistan (in the 2007 World Cup) and England (in the 2011 World Cup). They made a great start and soon West Indies were stuttering at 87 for 5. It took a spirited effort from Lendl Simmons (102) and a 154-run stand with Darren Sammy (89) to help the team post 304 for 7. Ireland, however, didn't give up and scaled the target with more than four overs to spare with Paul Stirling, Ed Joyce and Niall O'Brien contributing 92, 84 and 79 respectively.Win against Pakistan in the World CupIf the series of losses were demoralising enough, West Indies did make a statement with a 150-run win against Pakistan in the 2015 World Cup. West Indies posted 310 for 6 and then Jerome Taylor and Andre Russell shared six sticks to shoot down Pakistan for just 160 in 39 overs.Gayle joins the party

The 15th match of the 2015 World Cup saw a lot of records being shattered but the day will mostly be remembered for Chris Gayle's 215. Gayle had gone on without an ODI century for over 19 months. Ahead of the game, Dave Cameron, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board, retweeted a few tweets against the opener. Gayle had earlier slammed the board for not selecting Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard in the World Cup sqaud. Gayle couldn't have found a better way to bat the critics out, could he?It's ABD vs West Indies againIf West Indies cricket hit incredible highs, it nose-dived to incredible lows as well. It was AB de Villiers again tormenting them, this time in the World Cup. The South Africa captain raced to the fasted 150 in World Cup before he was dismissed for a 66-ball 162. West Indies went on to lose that match by 257 runs.The grand salute

England were playing West Indies in a three-Test series and won the second Test but the game will mostly be remembered for the banter between Marlon Samuels and Ben Stokes. Samuels had been at the receiving end of some banter from James Anderson and especially Stokes. Samuels went on to score a century and when Stokes was dismissed just for eight in the first innings, Samuels, instead of letting out words, stood near the bowler's end and mockingly saluted Stokes for his "incredible" innings.9) Memorable Test win against England

After all the banter in the second Test, England went on to win the Test by nine wickets. The visitors were leading the three-match series 1-0. And then Colin Graves, the then English and Cricket Wales cricket board chairman, made a mistake. He went on to say: "I'd certainly be disappointed if we don't win the West Indies series, because I am pretty sure the West Indies are going to have a mediocre team." The hosts went on to win the match by five wickets and leveled the series 1-1. Looks like the English didn't learn after the grovel comments from Tony Grieg.New Test captainJason Holder didn't have a lot of favouring results in the limited overs format but the WICB showed immense faith in him and announced him as the new Test captain. Holder took over from Denesh Ramdin ahead of the away Test series in Sri Lanka.Phil Simmons suspendedIf the on-field results weren't enough to stir a turmoil for West Indies cricket, the board suspended Phil Simmons as the coach just ahead of the Sri Lanka series after he expressed his disappointment with the squad selection. It was so late that Jason Holder came to know about the decision on the way to the airport. Simmons was later reinstated as the coach.Chance goes beggingIt was the second Test of the two-Test series against Sri Lanka in Colombo. West Indies were chasing 244 to register their first win on Sri Lankan soil. West Indies were 80 for 1 at on stage and that's when the freefall began. They folded for 171 to concede a 72-run win and missed a golden opportunity to square the series.Dwayne Bravo lashes out at WICB

It isn't a hidden fact that things aren't that great in West Indies cricket. A number of former players have criticised the board for how they've handled things and Dwayne Bravo came out all guns firing against the board. "We've got the players to be up there with the best in the world but there's a lot of things going on. Those in charge have to look into themselves. We don't have proper grounds, proper nets or a proper academy. All these things are a part of our downfall. The relationship between players, board members and management staff needs to get stronger and tighter. They need to have a lot more honesty," he said.Fielding lapse that tops it allJerome Taylor blunder during the game against Victoria XI side in Geelong summed up the stated of West Indies cricket. Jake Hancock pulled a short ball to Taylor but the pacer had his back towards play and was gazing the empty stands. The blunder was against a side that consisted of students, an electrician, a policeman and just two players with first-class experience.