The West Indies selectors came up with a squad for the current series against Pakistan, and their three most senior batsmen couldn’t find a place in the team. Ernest Hilaire responded to the public outcry by stating, “We are rebuilding a new team for the future”, and the chairman of the selectors, Guyanese Clyde Butts, indicated that the goal is to gather “a mixture of players who will take us through the next five to ten years.
Chris Gayle
Are these two gentlemen speaking the same language? Mr Hilaire, if we are rebuilding a team for the future, are you saying that the discarded senior players have no place in the rebuilding process, because of a poor World Cup showing? Mr Chairman of Selectors, what mixture are you actually talking about? A “new look team” without the most successful Guyanese batsmen? We are rebuilding without Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. These gentlemen can make any other international team in the world, except the West Indies’ “new look team”, yet the coach, Mr Ottis Gibson, is throwing his support behind captain Darren Sammy who cannot make any other international team in the world based purely on merit. If Sarwan is too old at age 30, what are we doing with Marlon Samuels? This is the same Samuels who turned down the WICB offer to replace Dwayne Bravo at the recently concluded Cricket World Cup.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
We are also replacing arguably the best wicket keeper in the West Indies, Denesh Ramdin, with the “youthful” Carlton Baugh, who was tried and has failed many times over in the past. Is this what Mr Butts and company call “rebuilding for the future” with youths? Or is it the ‘one size can’t fit all’ ideology? Gayle, the saga boy, is so out of favour with the WICB that he had not even been invited to do a fitness test. Is it because there were no “fruitful discussions” about retainer contracts between him and the WICB, as there were with Pollard and Bravo?
Was Sarwan’s omission based on his World Cup performance, or the recent rumours of ICC’s investigation; or because he is now the Secretary of WIPA? I know it was not very wise for him to be involved with WIPA administration while still an active player on the West Indies cricket team, but this should not be a factor for the selectors.
Whatever happened to the “rock” called Chanderpaul? Has he now been tossed into the ocean like a pebble? This is a man who was carrying on his shoulders the West Indies’ batting in both forms of the game for a decade or so, but because of a dismal World Cup performance, he has now been dropped. We cannot blame the “Tiger” for his World Cup performance, since Ottis Gibson and the captain chose to put him to bat up and down the order, eventually dropping him for two matches leading up to the semi- finals.
If the West Indies Cricket Board is looking to rebuild after the mediocre showing at the recent World Cup, officials can start by appointing a captain who can make the team purely on merit, and find themselves a new coach who knows something about batting.
I appeal to all Guyanese to rally behind our cricketing heroes and let the chairman of the WICB selectors, Guyanese Clyde Butts, come up with some answers that make sense to the public.
In other words: team members, let your performance speak for you. In that case, there is very little room for excuses.
In closing, I would not be surprised if the game in Guyana is watched by an empty stadium. It’s time Guyanese and their cricketers are respected for their contributions and performance in West Indies cricket.
