RYAN HINDS’ removal as Barbados’ captain wasn’t due to his pending court case where he is facing a number of traffic charges and other offences.
Acting chief executive officer of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), Deighton Smith, made that clear at a Press conference in the President’s Suite at Kensington Oval yesterday morning.
It was announced that BNB St Catherine all-rounder Kenroy Williams will captain Barbados in next month’s Regional Super50 Cup in Guyana.
But Smith said it was still a matter which the BCA was definitely concerned about.
“Let me say this categorically before I explain anything else; any personal off-field issues that Ryan Hinds has had, had nothing to do with this particular decision,” Smith said.
“Whatever has taken place is a matter that at the moment, the BCA, nor has the public of Barbados has the full import of. He has not been convicted of anything as far as I know.
“I am assuming that our forces are doing their job and doing investigation and in due course we will all know what they have found,” added Smith.
Hinds is currently on bail and is due to return to court on December 5, while the tournament is slated to finish on October 29.
Smith said the BCA took a decision to replace Hinds in an effort to have him pay more attention to his individual game with a view towards regaining a place on the West Indies team.
“What I can tell you now is this. If you see Ryan Hinds right now, you will observe that physically, he is actually a different person because he actually trains down here [Kensington Oval] four days a week.
“We believe, and Ryan Hinds believes, that he has every right to play for the West Indies again. He is, in my view . . . the best all-rounder in the Caribbean,” Smith added.
The CEO said the BCA, in striving to move Barbados “back to a position of eminence in the Caribbean”, had made some critical decisions with regard to the team’s senior players.
“We decided to take a position that we are going to do a lot of work with these players on their individual and personal games,” Smith said.
He added that one major decision was relieving Hinds of the captaincy.
“We’ve had a long discussion with Mr Hinds on this matter and he has actually asked me to say to the Press that he is very pleased to have the opportunity to work on his personal game and, at this moment, I may share with you that he’s actually in the gym working out,” Smith said.
“And so, we thought we would relieve him of the great burden of captaining Barbados’ cricket . . . In an effort to make sure that he works his way back to play at the international level, we have taken the decision that we are going to turn to a new captain.”