By Tony McWatt
Being a West Indies Selector has always been a tough job but in recent times it has become even tougher than ever before. So much so that the job must now undoubtedly rank as one of the toughest, most unappreciated, roles that anyone desirous of having any involvement with and wishing to contribute to West Indies cricket could ever seek to undertake.
Several influencing factors have contributed to the job of West Indies Selector now being far more onerous an undertaking than it used to be three to five decades ago. In those early days of the pool of available outstandingly talented West Indies players was as wide and deep as the Caribbean Sea itself.
Back then there was also only one format, that of Test cricket. The West Indies Selectors’ task was, therefore, simply to choose the very best combination of players for a starting XI, plus three others as reserves to constitute a fourteen-member Home Series squad and likely another two as an overseas bound touring team.
From Test cricket’s post-war resumption in the early fifties through the next four decades to the mid-nineties, the Selectors’ main challenge would have been the difficulty of making the very best choices from the abundance of outstanding talent. Who to choose from the plethora of readily available world-class talented riches would have been their biggest headache.
Through the early to late fifties there was Headley, Roach, Constantine, Martindale, the three W’s: Walcott, Weekes, Worrell, Rae, Stolymeyer, Gomez, Ramahdin and Valentine. The sixties were blessed with Sobers, Kanhai, Hall, Griffith, Gibbs, Hunte, Hendricks, Nurse, Butcher, the young Deryck Murray and an emerging Clive Lloyd. During the seventies there was Fredericks, Greenidge, Kallicharran, Rowe, Roberts, Holding, eventually also Garner, Croft, Haynes, Marshall, Gomes and Richardson which subsequently led to the formulation of the all-conquering Clive Lloyd and Vivian Richards led West Indies teams which not only played unbeaten in Tests for fifteen years, but also won the first two ICC Limited Overs World Cups.
Since the mid-nineties, however, for a multitude of reasons the pool of talented world-class players available to the West Indies Selectors has declined significantly. Bishop, Walsh, Ambrose, Lara, Chanderpaul and Sarwan were arguably the only truly world class players the West Indies has produced within the past three decades.
In addition since the mid-seventies introduction of One Day Internationals, which was eventually followed much later by T20s; West Indies Selectors are now charged with the responsibilities of choosing teams and squads for not one but three actual and different formats. Furthermore, thanks to the advent of social media, every choice they now make: good, bad or indifferent, is publicly scrutinized, criticized and likely vilified by hundreds of thousands of globally scattered arm-chair selectors.
Given the restricted pool of available world-class players, West Indies Selection Panels in recent years have faced their fair share of issues. Challenges which have often been further compounded by the more talented players being lured away by the attraction of much superior remunerations offered by the ever-increasing numbers of T20 franchise leagues across the globe.
The current Desmond Haynes led West Indies Selection Panel got off to an arguably shaky start with some controversial choices for its very first assignment that of the West Indies ODI squad for last year’s, three matches ODI Tour to Pakistan. Since then, however, the Haynes-led Panel’s choices have been much less controversial. Their squad choices for the subsequent Series since then have in fact created an increasing sense of confidence and reliability.
Haynes’ Panel was, however, recently rocked by the surprising and unexpected resignation of Ramnaresh Sarwan, who along with Head Coach Phil Simmons was its other two members. It will now be very interesting to see who is eventually named as Sarwan’s replacement. In the interim, Jamaica’s Robert Haynes, himself a former Selector, has been added to the Panel as Sarwan’s temporary cover.
With the Regional Four Day Championships now having been completed, the Panel’s forthcoming task will be to select the West Indies Test Squad for the two-match Series against Bangladesh. The Series begins on June 16 with the Antigua hosted First Test.
Among the major considerations the Panel will have to entertain for that Series will be the choice of the second opening batsman as Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite’s partner. The composition of the middle order batting, as well as the choices for the squad’s fourth seamer to possibly replace the injured Kemar Roach and the spinner(s), will also be on their list of topics for discussion.
Tagenerine Chanderpaul (439 runs, Avg 73.16 HS 184), Kieran Powell (405 runs, Avg.57.85, HS 139) and the incumbent John Campbell (398 runs Avg.49.75, HS 127) were among the openers who had impressive scores during the tournament. In terms of the middle-order, Devon Thomas (414 runs, Avg.59.14 HS 112) was the pick of the batsmen who have not as yet made their Test debuts.
Among the untried seamers, Jeremiah Louis (18 wickets Avg.20.16) was top of the list that would have caught the Selectors’ attention. As outstanding as they were, his returns might have been overshadowed though by those of the resurgent Kemo Paul who returned from his injury caused layoff to emerge as the tournament’s leading fast bowler.
Bowling with outstanding, sustained, pace while also extracting appreciative movement both through the air and off the pitch, Paul captured 20 wickets from his five matches played. His overall average was a very impressive 22.80 and his best figures of 6/50 were equally so.
In terms of the spinners, it was more a case of déjà vu with previously tried Test players Rakheem Cornwall 023 wickets Avg.21.47) and Veerasammy Permaul (19 wickets Avg.29.42) being by far the most outstanding. Permaul’s Guyana Harpy Eagles leg-spinning counterpart Gudakesh Motie would, however, also have given the Selectors some additional food for thought.
In addition to capturing 17 wickets with his leg-spin at a 24.76 average, Motie also scored 225 runs with the bat, including his maiden first-class century (110) to finish the tournament with an ultra-impressive 45.00 average and aggressive 93.36 strike rate. Undeniable evidence of his all-round abilities that would be well worthy of the Selectors’ consideration.
While they are pondering their imminent Test Squad composition, the West Indies Selectors will also be looking forward to the forthcoming ODI Series against Pakistan. Having handily defeated their Dutch hosts Holland 3 nil in the preceding Series, the West Indies ODI team is likely to face much stiffer opposition in the forthcoming matches against their Pakistan hosts.
There were several highly encouraging batting performances during the Holland Series with Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Brendon King and Kyle Mayers all registering centuries. Most interestingly the centuries from Hope, Brooks and Mayers were all at the top of the West Indies batting order.
Hope’s overall ODI batting performances have made him the West Indies’ first choice as their ODI opening batsman. The choice as to who should now be his partner has, however, become that more interesting with the absent incumbent Evan Lewis’ tenure now having been challenged by the respective Holland Series performances of Brooks and Mayers. The Pakistan matches should offer, therefore, additional opportunities for them both to further advance their claims.
The Pakistan matches will likewise offer additional opportunities for remaining players to stake their claims for selection for the subsequent Home Series against India and New Zealand that have also been scheduled for later this summer. There’s lots of cricket to be played and plenty of opportunities for those so inclined to raise their hands to the Selectors’ attention.
For the Selectors themselves, their primary concern will be for those to whom they have cast their faith, to redeem it with performances that reflect the very best of their talents and abilities. Given their far too often thankless, tough task of selecting the very best available West Indies teams it’s the very least they should be asking for.