Fast-bowling legend Courtney Walsh has called for international cricket’s richest nations and the ICC to come to West Indies’ aid – and believes his former team can climb back up the Test ladder given the right help.

West Indies’ white-ball tour of England finishes in Southampton on Tuesday, with the tourists seeking to avoid a sixth defeat out of six on a trip in which not all their best players were available because of IPL commitments. Sherfane Rutherford did not arrive from India until the third ODI, while Romario Shepherd missed that series altogether.

Most damagingly of all, Nicholas Pooran – the West Indies’ highest-rated batter in the ICC T20 rankings at 18th in the world – is sitting out the T20s after a full IPL season with Lucknow Super Giants.

‘I would love to see West Indies field their best team at all times,’ said Walsh, who took 519 Test wickets during a 17-year career. ‘I’m hoping we get to the situation where we can compete and be in the top three or four.

‘If we can rebuild, we can hopefully get to that stage in another two to three years. I’m confident the passion is still there for cricket in the Caribbean.

West Indies’ white-ball tour of England finishes in Southampton on Tuesday, with the tourists seeking to avoid a sixth defeat out of six

A once great side are eighth in the Test rankings, ninth in ODIs and fifth in T20s

The West Indies’ best T20 batter Nicholas Pooran has missed the entire series after his IPL commitments with Lucknow Super Giants

‘There’s a lot to be done. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it can be done. There’s some restructuring to do at home to make sure our first-class season gets up to par. And it would definitely help if we get financial help from the bigger boards, or from the global cricketing body, to put measures in place.’

When the ICC redistributed their funds two years ago, India, England and Australia ended up sharing nearly 52 per cent of the wealth, or £230million, with India pocketing £170m. West Indies, by contrast, were awarded less than five per cent – around £20m. TV production costs for Caribbean cricket amount to around £4m a year alone.

Walsh, who spent 11 summers with Gloucestershire, taking 869 wickets at 20, has been back in Bristol for a game to raise funds for the Motor Neurone Disease Association after David ‘Syd’ Lawrence – his close friend and former new-ball partner – was diagnosed with the illness a year ago. The average period between diagnosis and death is three years.

‘It’s a bit emotional, but it was probably worse for me the first time I went to see him in the hospital,’ Walsh told Mail Sport. ‘I have to fight for him.’

The 61-year-old Lawrence, who played five Tests for England and was appointed president of Gloucestershire three years ago, describes Walsh in his new autobiography In Syd’s Voice as ‘the finest bowler I played alongside in my career and an equally fine man’.

They bonded over their shared Jamaican heritage, and faced each other in Test cricket and during Lawrence’s lone ODI appearance, at Lord’s in 1991, when he trapped Walsh lbw for a duck.

Walsh, meanwhile, remembered his old team-mate as a ‘great fighter’.

He added: ‘He gave you 100 per cent all the time, and would never back down from a challenge. Even on the flattest of pitches, he would never say die. That’s the person he was – and is today.

David ‘Syd’ Lawrence was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease a year ago, and was there to celebrate with his beloved Gloucestershire in September when they won the T20 Blast

Lawrence played in five Tests and an ODI for England, as well as taking 625 wickets in 280 matches for Gloucestershire

Courtney Walsh tormented England for years on his way to 519 Test wickets

‘I was surprised he didn’t play more Tests, but breaking his kneecap in New Zealand in 1992 was a major setback for him. He tried to make a comeback, but it just didn’t work. But I thought he would have gotten in the England team a little bit earlier.

‘I never come to Bristol without calling him. We roomed together when I played for Gloucester, and used to travel together to the ground.

‘We were very, very close. It is very hard seeing him like this. It’s hard to describe. I have to be here for him and be strong for him.

‘He will fight it to the end. That’s the kind of character he is. All the way to the bitter end. That’s what he discussed the last time I went to see him in hospital. He’s not going to give up just like that. He’s giving it a good fight.’

In Syd’s Voice – The Extraordinary Life of Dave Lawrence is published on Thursday, and is available at www.fairfieldbooks.co.uk. A minimum of 50p, evenly split between the MND Association and the Cricketers’ Trust, will be donated for every copy sold.