I DIFFER WITH the writer of the Editorial in Friday’s WEEKEND NATION as to who is to be blamed for the continued demise of our beloved West Indies team.
It is easy to blame the administrators of West Indies cricket, while at the same time find it hard to apportion the blame where it should really be applied.
In the recently concluded ODI series West Indies vs England, both Jason Holder (captain) and Carlos Brathwaite were included in the final eleven for all three encounters. The inclusion of Carlos Brathwaite brings imbalance to the team.
There is no cricketing reason for including both Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite in the same team. If Jason as captain has to play, then it follows that Carlos Brathwaite cannot be included in the final team. (A similar argument was advanced as recent as last year when a certain Darren Sammy was left out of the ODI team).
During the second ODI (in Antigua), that was painfully obvious both on and off the field of play – even to the casual onlooker. So much so, that Carlos Brathwaite (4-0-38-0) only had one spell, although he was introduced at the “wrong” time. Shannon Gabriel was keeping the Englishmen playing mostly on their back foot and looked like the only West Indian bowler to get a wicket. This, until the introduction of the spinners, Bishoo and Nurse, who bowled wonderfully.
If we continue to do the same thing and expect different results, then it will never happen. Two things will suffer as a result of this madness, yes, madness: (1) brand West Indies will become less and less commercially viable; and (2) our team will continue to be ranked outside of the “money” tournaments. This year’s ICC Champions Trophy is one such example. Not to mention the 2019 ICC World Cup.
So, a better use of your editorial space would be to call out Courtney Browne and the rest of his selection panel, who continue to make these faux pas. They need to approach our team selection with a bit more business savvy and stop the madness that passes for “Windies Cricket” at the moment.
– DERRICK NICHOLLS
