SPORTS
Newsday reporter
Bryan Davis
I currently do not envy the role of a West Indies cricket selector. I have closely examined the squad selected to tour Zimbabwe and South Africa in February and March 2023 and while it remains open to criticism, on closer inspection there are many cricketers unavailable to play for WI. Thus, it is a difficult task to select a resilient team.
I ask CWI, why does the reliance on the current set of coaches who are responsible for keeping the players fit enough to play cricket at the top of their game continue? Those cricketers have a task to perform at their highest level of skill.
The WI players, especially the faster bowlers, create crises for the team’s resource management by their constant blunders, thus weakening the strength structure of the side.
The anticlimax of these breakdowns occurred in the last tour to Australia. WI visited Down Under to take on the Aussies in a two-Test series and got to the point of sending a replacement fast bowler. Marquino Mindley was sent flying across five time zones only to be thrown straight into a Test match and in no time was out with an injury.
Firstly, who was taking care of his fitness in Jamaica so that he would be “on call” at a moment’s notice if the team needed him, and secondly, what kind of test was he put through after arriving in Australia?
If faults keep happening to cricketers, then the coaches owe the CWI some explaining. WI are already weak, judging by their non-performance in all formats of the game, hence, the powers that be should have a look at putting the best and strongest players on the field.
Please check fitness experts.
I have to comment on the captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, making a big splash for Tagenarine Chanderpaul. While I agree with everything he says, it bothers me that he made his expectations public. Tagenarine has done well in his first appearance in a Test series so, without exaggeration, the captain’s praise must reflect the player’s temperament and how happy he is to see the left-arm opening batsman take his chance with both the hands.
The team’s batting is so woefully poor that Chanderpaul’s bold and exciting debut delighted the captain so much that he couldn’t control his praise for the 23-year-old, but it’s wrong. He should have been treated with quiet appreciation through complimentary comments as expected of him. Leave all the adoration to the cricket commentators – that’s their job. The captain is there to inspire and give credit in a calm manner.
In the modern cricketing environment where poorer cricketing nations are struggling to survive and are abandoned by their best players for greater financial reward, team selections are derived from available or, to read a otherwise, are not selected for exclusive cricket.
Although a poor cousin of the art and classical batting required in Test cricket, or the fitness required to bowl 20 or 30 overs a day, plus the level of cricketing intelligence essential to two-match cricket, the financial gain, as far as players are concerned, it is reason enough to migrate to these franchises and enjoy a better standard of living.
Hence WI, South Africa, New Zealand etc are losing some of their best cricketers to these leagues. Only India, Australia and England can afford to resist the influence of already established franchise competitions. Of course, they do this by being able to pay their players to stay away if their home programs are affected.
The International Cricket Council is dominated by cricket’s three superpowers who apply rules to suit themselves to the detriment of less wealthy countries.
On the other hand, cricketers do not have the same level of skill and achievement in glorified club cricket as they would in a competition between two nations opposing each other for place and honor. Moreover, they should not be judged by their choice because a man can use whatever skills he has to develop a standard of living for himself and his family.
Meanwhile, WI will continue to spend money to produce great players with a view to them representing the region, however, the best will disappear as rich franchises lure them away.
