What is the rationale behind a non-Guyanese Windies A 4-Day team?

– Asks Brandon Corlette

This is one of the most constant questions being asked by all Guyanese cricket supporters. For the past five seasons, Guyana Jaguars have reigned supreme, not only winning a few matches but winning the Regional 4-Day title for five consecutive years. How does a team win matches and tournaments?

It is simply because the players have been performing exceptional or they have been making significant impact in matches/tournaments. Guyana Jaguars are equipped with those players and yet the current West Indies A 4-Day team that is currently playing England only one Guyana Jaguars player is in the set-up; the Barbadian Raymon Reifer.
From the 2014-2015 Regional 4-Day season, Guyana topped the Points-table year after year, under the captaincy of Leon Johnson won these five-championships. The likes of Johnson, Anthony Bramble, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Vishal Singh, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Clinton Pestano, and Romario Shepherd should have been constant members given the opportunity at the West Indies A level, especially in the 4-Day format.
It is without doubt that Johnson is the best captain in the Caribbean, but many may say he requires more runs at the Regional level in order to break into the senior team. However, his elite captaincy skills and immense talent with the bat should be given more opportunities at the West Indies A level. In his past two Regional seasons, Johnson scored 475 runs and 480 runs respectively. He scored one century including a best of 166 and seven half-centuries across both seasons.
Bramble has been ignored by CWI selectors but he has recently earned a call-up to the West Indies T20 team but he has never played for West Indies A after finishing the Regional season as the best wicket-keeper batsman. Tagenarine Chanderpaul has also been ignored for the current A series against India.
The young Chanderpaul has shown great temperament in the longer format although his scoring rate has been questioned. In the past two seasons of the Regional 4-Day tournaments, he scored 459 runs and 542 runs. The solid left-hander scored two centuries and four half-centuries across both seasons. Yet he has been ignored, the A team series are not for winning but exposing a wider pool of players for selection to the senior West Indies team.
Are all Guyanese players out of that selection pool? Another solid batsman that is also seen as a longer format specialist is Vishal Singh. He has not had the best of seasons but he has shown his ability to rebuild a team’s innings. In the 2017/18 season, Singh had 539 runs followed by 366 runs in the 2018/19 season.
Hemraj has been an impact opening batsman, taking it to opposition early in the innings. He scored 350 runs in the 2018/19 season and 623 runs in 2017/18. The left-handed had an ordinary follow up season but it still should not lead him out of the West Indies A teams.
In addition to the spinners that are taking the wickets for the Guyana Jaguars Shepherd and Pestano have been impressive. Shepherd was included in the limited overs tour but he was not called up for the 4-Day leg of the tour. This area of concern must be addressed and Cricket West Indies should consider these Guyanese for West Indies A matches where they will further earn a spot in the senior team.