Lara and Richards are two giant figures in West Indian cricket

It is through cricket that the region, a collection of independently governed islands, is identified in this way.

"Apart from cricket, everything we do is done as individual countries," former captain Jimmy Adams tells the fourth episode of the Story of Cricket.

"We have our own flags, our own currencies. People tend to lump us all together as the West Indies, but culturally there are huge differences between the islands."

Another former skipper, Clive Lloyd, adds: "Cricket is the glue which keeps us together. For over 75 years, we've done extremely well for just five million people."

Lloyd understates the truth with that comment.

The Caribbean has produced some of the best cricketers to play the game, while some argue the West Indies team of the late 1970s and '80s was the best ever.

STORY OF CRICKET Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding narrates on BBC World Service The programme is the fourth of a six-part series detailing the history of the game Former India Test cricketer Ravi Shastri presents subsequent programmes on Asian cricket

Cricket was played in the Caribbean some time before the turn of the 20th century, but it was not until 1928 that the West Indies were granted full Test status.

Like most fledgling Test teams, they struggled early on and won only four of the 22 Tests they played before World War II.

But even in defeat, the Windies were rapidly establishing an identity and their own distinctive brand of cricket.

"We didn't suppress our natural flair," Lloyd continues. "We just had the ability to hit good length balls for four or six.

"We had great fast bowlers and wonderful spinners. To be able to bring it all together was quite exciting."

The success of black batsman George Headley, whose career was cut short by the war, was significant in that cricket was no longer seen as the domain of the white elite.

BROADCAST TIMES Part 3: 29/1/03 - 31/1/03 All times GMT Aus and NZ : Thurs 2106, Fri 0306, 0706, 1606 East Asia: Fri 0206, 0706, 1306, 1906 South Asia: Thurs 2206, Fri 0506, 0906, 1406 East Africa: Fri 0706, 1406, Sat 0006 West Africa: Fri 0906, 1646, Sat 0006 Middle East: Fri 0806, 1306, 1706, Sat 0106 Europe: Fri 0906, 1306, 1906, Sat 0106 Americas: Fri 1406, 2006, Sat 0106, 0606 Find out more

"People from Headley's background could identify with him and he became a role model," says broadcaster Tony Cozier.

The West Indies' first tour victory in England came in 1950.

"That was where West Indies cricket came to maturity," opines former batsman Jeffrey Stollmeyer.

The production line of wonderful talent started with the 3Ws: Clyde Walcott, Frank Worrell and Everton Weekes at the top of the order.

Worrell's appointment as the side's first black captain came at a time when most top positions in Caribbean society were still filled by white people.

He led the West Indies on their epic 1960-61 tour of Australia, which the visitors lost 2-1. At no other time did the cricket team reflect what was going on in Caribbean society as much as then.

"That team made the most significant contribution cricket has made to West Indian social and political development," Cozier recalls.

As the 3Ws' era came to a close, a new era had already begun - the era of Sir Garfield Sobers, the greatest all-rounder the world has seen.

Sobers has a lasting impact on cricket in the Caribbean

His six sixes in one over playing for Nottinghamshire is now the stuff of legend, while his 365 against Pakistan was a Test record that stood for 36 years before fellow West Indian Brian Lara bettered it.

Sobers' retirement in 1974 coincided with the dawn of West Indian cricket as the most potent force in the world.

Under Lloyd, the Windies ruled Test cricket and won the first two limited-overs World Cups, in 1975 and '79.

Their reign was built around by a four-pronged pace attack. Tall, fast bowlers like Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding Andy Roberts, and later Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh were feared by batsmen the world over.

Add to that batsmen like Lloyd, Sir Viv Richards, Larry Gomes, Richie Richardson, Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge, and it is easy to see why the West Indies were head and shoulders above the rest for such a long time.

Richards was greatest of them all, scoring over 8,000 Test runs and thrilling crowds with his combative style of batting.

Carl Hooper, who captained the Windies in the 2003 World Cup, remembers the effect Richards had on the opposition.

He recalls: "Viv had this aura, this dominating way when he was in the middle. You just sensed that as long as he was there, they looked a bit down and did not want to compete."

A battery of fast bowlers struck fear into batsmen the world over

Walsh was one of the last of the dominant era to retire, finishing with a record 519 Test wickets.

Even at the best of times, West Indies cricket was dogged by competition between the islands to further their own cause within the West Indies Cricket Board.

But while things may be more harmonious in the boardroom these days, affairs on the field are not.

Fifteen years without a Test series defeat came to an end against Australia in 1995, and before the end of the decade a further 16 matches were lost.

The decline in West Indies cricket is largely put down to complacency, particularly within the islands.

"It was taken for granted a bit because we were so successful. I don't think any infrastructure was in place for when the crunch time came and the quality wasn't there any longer," Walsh offers.

One ray of light in the dark years has been the batting of Lara, who in 1994 scored 380 against England and a first-class record 501 for Warwickshire.

His first term as captain was ignominious, but last year he returned to the post and is doing a good job at setting the record straight.

Whether the team is winning or losing, the flamboyance and uninhibited style of West Indies cricket always shines through.