Sydney, Nov 15 Former West Indies coach John Dyson has said that the one-time world champions are in a mess and face a belting in the three Tests against Australia starting this month.

The 55-year-old, who coached the West Indies to a series win against England this year, is concerned about the structure of the team and doubts it can recover.

"You look at that great era they had (in the 1980s and '90s) and what a fantastic team it was - they were just blessed at that particular time with a team of great players. But given the way everyone else has progressed and the West Indies haven't, it's difficult to see that happening again," The Herald Sun quoted Dyson, as saying.

"Everyone else has moved forward, but the West Indies are stuck in the past. They haven't caught up with their competitions. They need to look at the whole structure," he added.

Dyson further said that the country has plenty of talent, but it is not nurtured like authorities in various other parts of the world do.

"The Australian structure has been very good all the way through, but it's not like that in the West Indies," Dyson said.

"Regional cricket is played on very poor wickets, they practise on very poor wickets. There are some good players spread around there, but there are so many problems, as seen with the industrial strike that they've just had," he added.

West Indies are scheduled to play three Tests against Australia in November and December, as well as two Twenty20 games and five ODIs in February (ANI)