President Ali reiterates encouragement to Shepherd

…puts Selection Policy under the microscope

By Jemima Holmes

Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali on Thursday afternoon handed over 17 lawnmowers and 17 brush cutters to directly fuel the Government’s ‘Ground Enhancement Programme’ which has been ongoing for some months now.
While this was a notable presentation at the National Stadium, Providence, and will augur well for numerous facilities across the country, it was by no means the highlight of the President’s time spent in the world of sport, as he addressed a number of trending topics, the most significant of which is the debate on Cricket West Indies’ selection process.

The Head of State was posed with questions about his social media post made over the past weekend, wherein he questioned the non-selection of Guyana’s Romario Shepherd to the West Indies T20 World Cup squad.
“It is crazy. It is crazy that he’s not selected,” a flabbergasted President Ali told sports journalists.
He added, “As a matter of fact, I will go beyond that to say it’s not only an issue of transparency. Who owns West Indies Cricket? If the people of the West Indies own West Indies Cricket, then somebody has to be accountable to the people.”
The President empathised with what he imagines to be Shepherd’s plight, after a stellar performance in the recent Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in which he took 18 wickets in 9 games at an average of 14.11 and an economy of 7.69.
“I put myself in his place. If I know that I am going in this tournament to secure a place in the West Indies team, and I’m putting everything out there to show my talent and to show that I’m in form, and then at the end of the tournament, that doesn’t matter; I’m not picked based on my form and my performance, then what happens, you know?” President Ali related.

“I feel as a Guyanese, not only as a Guyanese, as a West Indian fan, and I’ve seen situations when people who are in a position to speak up did not speak, and I’ve seen great talent fall by,” he said in an appeal for the utilisation of the Berbician all-rounder’s talent.
As such, President Ali disclosed that he took the onus upon himself to reach out to the Guyanese cricketer to offer advice and encouragement.
“This is a superb talent. This is an all-rounder that I think has a great, great future ahead of him. I’m happy I had the opportunity. I spoke to him directly, and I told him hold his head up high and continue to work hard, perform and let your performance speak for itself.
“When there’s injustice, you have to speak up, and this is a case of injustice.”
Hoping for some form of justification, President Ali continued, “And I hope that there’s an official release on his exclusion.”
Moreover, the President revealed that he is yet to hear from anyone in high cricket authority, since his Facebook post attracted overwhelming attention over the weekend.
“I’ve not heard from anybody at the GCB; I’ve not heard from anyone,” Dr. Ali related.
“But this is a matter for the Cricket Board and the authorities also to weigh in. This is not a Guyana matter, I think this has to be a regional matter, in which the region itself has to pay attention to how people are treated.”
The Cricket Authorities, however, were not the only ones that came under scrutiny from Dr. Ali, as he went on to question Cricket West Indies’ Selection Policy.
“Because if you have the regional tournament as the tournament that selects the West Indies team, and you have bowlers coming out of the regional tournament with the most wickets and can’t find a place in the team, what happens? Then there is no incentive to being the best bowler in the tournament. You have batsmen coming out with high average and they are not part of the team. It is time the people of the region know what criteria the board is using to select teams,” Guyana’s Head of State declared.
In addition to his wickets in the tournament, Shepherd also smashed 109 runs in the tournament, striking at 165.15, with a high score of 72 not out.
It is important to note that the Cricket West Indies Selection Policy is no secret, but is rather a public document that can be found on the organisation’s website. However, the question that remains is the Selection Panel’s tendency to abide by the directives of the policy.