Sir Garfield Sobers gets emotional as he discusses state of West Indies cricket

Sobers, regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders of all time, cannot see any parallel between the current Windies team and the one he played in, or with the all-conquering sides of the 1970s and 1980s.

The Windies are presently eighth in the Test and one-day international rankings and have not beaten anyone placed above them in a Test series since 2012, when they beat New Zealand.

Their troubles are not confined just to the field either, with coach Phil Simmons still suspended after an outburst towards the West Indies Cricket Board.

An emotional Sobers, who played 93 Tests from 1954 to 1974, amassing 8,032 runs at an average of 57.78 and taking 235 wickets at 34.03, said at a news conference shown on BBC Sport: "My whole obligation was to West Indies cricket. As I have always said: 'I have never made a run for me'.

"I have always played for the West Indies teams, and it was such a pleasure and joy to be able to do what I did. Records meant nothing, the team was important.

"I don't think we have that kind of person today. We might have them in different countries; we might have them in Sri Lanka, we might have them in England, in Australia, but I don't think we have that kind of person in West Indies any more who is quite prepared to play and to give it everything to their country.

"And that hurts and until we can get people who are willing to play for West Indies in the right way, I think that we're going to be struggling for a long time.

"Other countries are going to come and surpass us."

Sobers has criticised some of the current crop for prioritising lucrative Twenty20 competitions - such as the Indian Premier League - over international commitments.

The 79-year-old, who was speaking in Sri Lanka, where the Windies are currently touring, added: "I believe a lot of West Indian players today want to make Test cricket and do well because the IPL is just around the corner, and they can go there.

"That is not meant to develop a country, that is not meant to bring a country back to the standard that it used to be because as soon as they develop, they're gone too."