‘Tadpole’ left out of cricket squad

West Indies unorthodox left-arm spin bowler Dave “Tadpole” Mohammed has been left out of Trinidad and Tobago’s 14-member squad for next month’s West Indies limited-overs cricket championship. According to an official of the TT Cricket Board, Mohammed did not make himself available to participate in two practice matches that were carded for Saturday and Sunday and, as a consequence, was not considered for selection. Denesh Ramdin, the former Young TT and Young West Indies captain, and Richard Kelly, the former Young TT all-rounder, are the only two newcomers in the side that will be led by West Indies opening batsman Daren Ganga.

Jamaica-born batsman Ricardo Powell, along with West Indies teammates Dwayne Bravo and Mervyn Dillon have also been included, as well as former Young TT and Young WI all-rounder Lendl Simmons. TT, semi-finalists last year, were set to face Barbados, beaten finalists last year, in the opening match of the original schedule of the competition at Enmore in Guyana on October 16. The destruction that the passage of Hurricane Ivan left behind in Grenada has left the West Indies Cricket Board contemplating changes to the format and venues for the competiton, but they have not been made public yet. TT Squad: Daren Ganga (captain), Imran Jan, Sherwin Ganga, Dwayne Bravo, Brian Lara, Ricardo Powell, Shazam Babwah, Denesh Ramdin, Rayad Emrit, Richard Kelly, Mervyn Dillon, Samuel Badree, Rodney Sooklal, Lendl Simmons.