The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) recently aired their disgust with what they termed as a ‘lopsided and illogical’ approach shown by Cricket West Indies (CWI) selectors for their decisions in finalizing the Test team ahead of the First Test versus England.
CWI released the squad on January 15th ahead of the Test series in Barbados which bowls off from January 23, and according to a release from the GCB on
Keemo Paul
Friday, the board is questioning a number of issues, including the methods of selection used by the Selection Panel headed by Courtney Browne.
“Firstly, we note that the administrators arranged 2 two days’ tour matches to be held on January 15th & 16th and January 17th & 18th prior to the First test. Of note is that the tour matches and practice matches are all being played in Barbados, so there is no issue of travelling being an impediment for logistics. Can the selection panel advise us why the haste in selecting the team 8 days in advance of a very important series at home?” read the opening of the release.
It further went on to highlight the selection timeline as well as the purpose of the tour games. “The second tour match was slated to conclude on Jan 18th, a clear 5 days before the First Test. Can you explain why the team was not selected at the end of the 2nd tour match? Or were those matches arranged just to facilitate practice for the English team and had no bearing on the minds of the CWI selectors?”
Speaking on the selection criteria, the release further read, “The GCB strongly feels that all teams should be selected on a firm set of criteria, chief among which should be Performance, Fitness, Form, Attitude, Aptitude, Team Balance, Ground Conditions, Commitment, Training and a few other reasonable subjective considerations. Our structure involves a domestic franchise system within the
Darren Bravo
regional franchise system, and the GCB has fully embraced the CWI PCL franchise system ever since its inception in 2014 and have thus reaped rewards for the fruits of our labour by winning the PCL R4D for 4 consecutive years and well on track to make it 5 in a row this year. What do we tell our players, who have displayed year-round commitment and dedication coupled with outstanding performances, when they are constantly being sidelined?’
“Barring Darren Bravo, no other top or middle order batsman in the selected team has an average more than 35.25. A cursory view of the stats on the CWI website would demand that the following players be called up for duty with the CWI
Clinton Pestano
President’s XI or the Test team immediately: Chandrapaul Hemraj, Vishaul Singh, Anthony Bramble, Keemo Paul and Veerasammy Permaul. There may be a case to be made for a few others, such as Clinton Pestano and Romario Shepherd.
The release concluded by stating, “The GCB welcomes the decision of the panel to bring back our best test batsman Darren Bravo, and trust that the selectors follow the strict selection criteria outlined above, as only justice and fair play will develop our players to be hungry for success, which will ultimately translate into success for our WI team. We also welcome our captain, Jason Holder, back into the fold after injury”. The release ended.
