Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) 2023 Regional Super50 Cup started on October 17.
The players involved in this year’s tournament will be competing for increased prize money with the winning team receiving US$100,000, compared to last year’s US$30,000, while the runners-up will collect US$50,000.
However, far too many of the players selected by the six territorial franchises: Barbados Pride, Guyana Harpy Eagles, Jamaica Scorpions, Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, and Windward Islands Volcanoes, should not be in line to benefit from those substantial increases.
The selectors of the respective squads have demonstrated a severe lack of foresight in their choices, as many of the chosen players are now way past the prime of their 50-Over careers.
The reality that seems to have escaped the selectors of each of the squads, is that CWI’s annual Super50 is the only available regional tournament which gives players an opportunity to be chosen for the West Indies ODI squad.
Having failed to qualify for this year’s ICC ODI World Cup, the West Indies’ next opportunity for international participation at the formats’ marquee event will not be until 2027.
Against that reality, therefore, this year’s Super50 should have been used as the first stage of a four-year West Indies team rebuilding process. As such, the emphasis on player selection should have been leaning towards youth.
Thankfully, for the future development of West Indies cricket, two of the participating squads; the West Indies Cricket Academy and the Combined Colleges and Campuses, include young, emerging players.
It is hoped that players from those two teams take full advantage of the opportunity, especially with a three-match home series against the touring England on tap for this coming December.
That upcoming series against England should feature the unveiling of a restructured West Indies ODI team, comprised exclusively of players who are most likely to be highly competitive and at the very peak of their careers come 2027.
There should be no consideration given to any continued recycling of the tried, tested, and proven failures.
Starting with the Barbados Pride, their squad is comprised as follows: Shai Hope (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Dominic Drakes, Akeem Jordan, Javed Leacock, Kyle Mayers, Jair McAllister, Zachary McCaskie, Roshon Primus, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Smith, Jomel Warrican.
As the West Indies Test captain and with no four-day cricket scheduled before the forthcoming tour to Australia next January, Kraigg Brathwaite’s inclusion is understandable, even more so highly commendable. Brathwaite needs to make use of every available opportunity to get himself ready for what will be a very demanding Australia tour early in the New Year.
No such justification, however, can be provided for the inclusion of Brooks, Chase, Mayers, Reifer, or Warrican, all of whose WI ODI careers should now be at an end.
Add to that list Roshon Primus, who at 28 and in less than ideal physical shape, has never played ODI cricket for the West Indies.
Brooks aged 35, has played 29 ODIs for the West Indies, scoring only 842 runs at an average of 30.07. His runs have included just a single century and four half-centuries.
An identical farewell also should be given to Chase, now aged 31, who has 42 ODI matches to his name and 687 runs scored at an average of 25.44, with no centuries and only three half-centuries. As an off-spin bowler, Chase has also captured 27 ODI wickets in his 42 played matches at an average of 43.85 and an economy rate of 4.87.
The same can be said for Mayers, the most inconsistent of the lot. Mayers is now aged 31 and his 28 ODI matches have produced a paltry 660 runs at a mediocre 25.38 average.
Two centuries and an equal number of halfcenturies to his name, mostly against lower ranked opponents such as the Netherlands.
Mayers’ much touted medium-pace bowling has only captured 14 wickets at an average of 45.14 and with a 5.52 economy rate. Ample evidence for the discontinuation of his West Indies ODI career, albeit with the 2027 World Cup in mind.
Neither Reifer nor Warrican would under normal circumstances be considered as serious contenders for the West Indies ODI team. So, the question that needs to be asked is why have they both, as well as Brooks, Chase, Mayers and Primus, been included in Barbados’ Super50 squad? Surely both Barbados and West Indies cricket would be much better served if their places were instead given to younger players with much brighter futures.
The same argument can also now be made against the respective inclusions of Veerasammy Permaul, Chandrapaul Hemraj, and Nial Smith for the Guyana Harpy Eagles; Jermaine Blackwood, Chadwick Walton, Sheldon Cottrell, Nkrumah Bonner among others for the Jamaica Scorpions; Rakheem Cornwall, Kieron Powell for the Leeward Hurricanes, Darren Bravo, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Yanic Cariah, and Shannon Gabriel for the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, and Andre Fletcher, Sunil Ambris and Johnson Charles by the Windward Volcanoes.
None of them should be considered eligible for West Indies ODI team selection any longer.
Hence, their places in the respective squads should also have been given too much younger players.
Thankfully, as previously mentioned there will, however, still be some young exciting prospects on show during this year’s Super50.
The Academy squad, to be captained by the former WI Under-19 player Nyeem Young, will include Kirmani Melius. Matthew Nandu, Akeem Auguste, Teddy Bishop, Johann Layne, Kevin Wickham and Joshua Bishop, all of whom have very bright futures ahead as potential West Indies players.
Much the same can also be said for the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) squad. Under the captaincy of the experienced Shane Dowrich, the CCC squad includes such extremely exciting talents as Jordan Johnson, Kristan Kallicharran, and Isai Thorne. Chemar Holder, whose much anticipated return to match play has been long awaited, has also been included in the CCC squad which has been superbly selected by the former West Indies Test captain Daren Ganga.
The active participation of that many young, exciting, players in this year’s Super50 will, hopefully, be sufficient to offset the unnecessary, short-sighted, mentality by the selectors of the six territorial.
Perhaps the territorial selectors were selfishly far more focused on improving their team’s chances of winning the US$100, 000 top prize money, than being overly concerned about the future development of West Indies cricket.
If that is indeed the case, it shows a lack of foresight which anyone with a genuine interest in West Indies cricket at heart would never want to see!
About The Writer: Guyana-born, Tony McWatt is the Publisher of both the WI Wickets and Wickets/monthly online cricket magazines that are respectively targeted toward Caribbean and Canadian readers. He is also the only son of the former Guyana and West Indies wicket-keeper batsman the late Clifford “Baby Boy” McWatt.
Lack Of Forward Thinking Evident in Super50 Squads!
