Mahabir unhappy with Edwards selection

BALDATH MAHABIR, Trinidad and Tobago’s cricket coaching director is not happy with the method used to select Barbadian Fidel Edwards for the Second Test against Sri Lanka in Jamaica.

Edwards, a virtual unknown was picked for the West Indies having played just one First Class match for Barbados. It is reported that skipper Brian Lara saw him bowling in the nets before the Test match against Australia in Barbados and was very impressed. The world batting record holder recommended Edwards to the selectors after the drawn First test against Sri lanka in St Lucia. The young Bajan repaid the faith Lara placed in him by grabbing five wickets on debut in the first innings. Mahabir agreed that Edwards bowled well and has real potential but it is the manner of his selection that has him upset. “There are procedures to be followed when it comes to team selection and this was clearly not followed. The selectors should have had a shortlist of players to choose from and the guys going on to the Test team should come from this squad. Now when this precedent is set this could lead to problems down the road.” “I have nothing against the youngster. I think that he really bowled well and can go far. You cannot blame the youngster for his selection, he did not select himself. The selectors should take note and consider the implications,” said Mahabir.

The president of Clarke Road Cricket Club said he was also particularly distressed with the omission of national captain Daren Ganga from the Second Test team. “The man scored two centuries against the powerful Australians, batting at number three and you bring him into the series against Sri Lanka to open. He scored 12 at that position and was axed. What they should have done is put him back at number three and send Wavell Hinds to open and drop Marlon Samuels. Ganga has brought in better scores that Samuels and he should have played in the Test,” suggested Mahabir. On the team’s performance the TTCBC executive member commented: ”The West Indies won and that is really great, but I think that they need to play more consistently. At this stage, any victory for the West Indies is great and will increase the confidence of the players. However, we cannot get carried away with one single success. We must continue the hard work and take the positives out of the Test and move on to greater things.”

Former Test player, Rangy Nanan was elated with the victory saying that the win was really pleasing for the supporters. “It’s great that the West Indies can win the Test series after throwing away the One-Day International series 2-1. I expect them to beat Zimbabwe later in the year and this should put them in good stead going into the tough series against South Africa. This team is really playing good cricket and can go on to greater things once they keep up the hard work,” Nanan said. Manager of the national team Omar Khan said the win was fashioned by the brilliance of Brian Lara’s captaincy. “Brian continues to show that he can lead from the front and rally the troops well. He has motivated them with the classic example being the two young fast bowlers Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards. They both said that Lara played a big part in their entry into Test cricket and has really helped them a lot. “The coach Gus Logie must also come in for a lot of praise for the great job he is doing with the boys and hopefully the team can now move from strength to strength,” said Khan.