Following the non-selection of Guyanese Ashmini Munisar, Plaffiana Millington and Shabika Gajnabi, top performers in the recently concluded CWI Blaze T20 and Super50 Cup tournaments, the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) is questioning Cricket West Indies’(CWI) criteria/ measuring stick used for selection.
Munisar, Millington and Gajnabi were among the leading ladies in the recent CWI Women’s Super50 and T20 tournaments, either with bat, ball, or both; but were somehow strangely overlooked ahead of the Pakistan tour.
Ashmini Munisar
CWI released the names of the 15-member squad ahead of the upcoming eight-match Series which bowls off on April 6 in Pakistan, with Guyana skipper Shemaine Campbelle being named vice-captain and all- rounder Cherry-Ann Fraser being the other of only two Guyanese in the Windies team.
The non-inclusion of Munisar, Millington and Gajnabi comes as a shock, the trio always having played outstanding cricket throughout. In the batting department, Guyana had 3 players in the top 5 for the Blaze T20, with Gajnabi, Campbell and Mandy Mangru occupying spots 2, 3 and 5 respectively.
Plaffiana Millington
Gajnabi, a regular face in the Windies Women’s team, finished as the second leading run-scorer overall in the T20 Blaze and top run-getter for Guyana, with 138 runs at an average of 34 and a top score of 52.
Campbell, who was selected for Pakistan, ended as the 3rd leading scorer behind Gajnabi, with an aggregate of 128 runs, also ended with the most dismissals by a wicket-keeper (6).
Munisar finished the Women’s Super50 Cup as the leading wicket-taker with 12 victims and a best of 5-15, which was also the best figures of the Super50 by any bowler.
She was followed by countrywoman Niya Latchman the next best wicket-taker in the 50-Over tournament with 11 wickets, as the latter also had a selection-warranted season with the ball.
The Guyanese trio statistically outplayed almost all of the other selectees for the upcoming tour, with the non-selection of three premier performers in both the T20 and 50-Overs now being questioned by the GCB.
