Lessons for WI from humiliating Test loss

Although progress seems to have been made towards ending the long outstanding impasse between Cricket West Indies (formerly WICB) and the players, there are several lessons still to be learned.

1) Selection committee According to the CWI website, the current selectors are Courtney Browne, Eldine Baptiste, Travis Dowlin, and Lockhart Sebastian.

Combined, these four selectors have played a total of 36 Tests — 20, 10, six, and zero, respectively.

Not only do the selectors have little Test experience, but one never even played a Test match. Yet he gets to choose who will.

That is equivalent to failing all your CXC exams and now getting paid to mark CXC exam papers.

This begs the question: why has the CWI not appointed selectors with better track records? 2) Captaincy Darren Sammy was appointed Test captain at age 26, after playing only eight Tests. Jason Holder was appointed Test captain at age 23, after also playing only eight Tests. Neither could have been certain of making the final 11 based on merit. (I respect Sammy big time for his stand in the end).

They are both all-rounders, required to bat, bowl and captain with such limited experience. As expected, Sammy never developed his true potential. Holder is following in the same manner.

Wouldn’t it be better to select the squad first and then appoint a capable leader from those selected? 3) Specialist batsmen selected The first class batting averages of Kieran Powell, Kyle Hope, and Jermaine Blackwood are 33.76, 31.38, and 32.61, respectively.

Their first class games would have mainly been played in the Caribbean, in docile conditions on spinner-friendly pitches.

These players now have to play in English conditions, against high-quality bowlers. What did the selectors expect from them? And the out-of-favour players like Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Darren Bravo and Chris Gayle (whose Test averages are 51.37, 40.00, and 42.18) were not even considered to play.

Selectors consider Chanderpaul too old at 43, yet he currently averages 67 playing for Lancashire in the English domestic competition. The average age of the West Indies side that lost to England is 26. Not really that young either, but with little experience.

Wouldn’t it have been better to choose these experienced guys to nurture the young ones and add a bid of quality to the batting line-up? Instead, the selectors preferred to humiliate the young guys. Blackwood, though, did have a good innings.

If we continue on this path, exactly which Test-playing nation will want to play the West Indies? The only reason would be to better the players’ individual stats and set records.

And the money will dry up.

Both first class and Test matches in the Caribbean are played before empty stands and neither TV nor radio commentary. If we don’t want to follow WI cricket anymore, who then will pay to see the West Indies? Many other issues need to be addressed, such as poor quality pitches, conflicting scheduling with T20 cricket, financial arrangements with players, relevance of first class cricket in selecting players to represent the West Indies, player development, finding a balance with T20 cricket etc. West Indies administrators, please do the right thing or get out of the way.

DECLAN PATTRON Maracas Valley