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Brian Lara and his men have become the butt of jokes and are being mercilessly criticised by the former players and the media after their dismal showing in the Super Eight stage of the World Cup.

In hard-hitting editorials, the Jamaica Gleaner and the Trinidad Express have called for total overhaul of the team and demanded explanation from the west indies cricket board for the squad's disastrous showing.

The media has also demanded that West Indies tour to England scheduled for this summer be called off to "avoid more humiliation."

"They (the team), ostensibly, are international sportsmen highly paid ones, who are continually attempting, through their union, to squeeze from their employers, the West Indies cricket board. So when they consistently perform poorly, shamelessly so, and humiliate the people of the Caribbean, there is need for an accounting."

"Not after the completion of the cricket World Cup and ahead of the West Indies' next cricket tour to England. But now for there are some hard decisions to be made," wrote Jamaica Gleaner.

It was spew fire on the team for what it called the lack of spirit shown by the side.

"The greater pain is in the abject and pitiful surrenders of Brian Lara and his men, as has been the case so far in the super eight round of the cricket tournament."

"With each plunge further in this deep, dark abyss, some honcho of West Indies cricket comes mouthing frothy platitudes, to which, we suppose, they themselves have long stopped listening."

"Like captain Lara's apology to West Indian fans after the latest debacle on Tuesday against South Africa. There was a hollow, tinny sound to it. He had said it too often for it to have meaning it sounded like recitation, something learned by rote."

"Cricket, it seems, is to Mr Lara's team circus minstrels on show. They do not see, and perhaps do not care to perceive - may be it doesn't matter - any connection between the Caribbean's hosting of the World Cup and this year's celebration of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade."

The Gleaner demanded calling off the tour of England later this year to put an end to international cricket.

"Instead of allowing Lara and his merry band to drag the West Indian people deeper into a collective depression, the WICB might spare us the humiliation and forfeit the matches against Bangladesh and England."

Then the cricket board must call off this summer's tour of England and all tests and ODIs for the next three years while it sets about rebuilding the game in the region. In the meantime, we play 'A' teams, it added.