Dear Editor,
Finally! Finally at the age of 32, Travis Dowlin has made it to the West Indies team. Imagine it had to take a strike by the West Indies players over their age-old contract dispute to ensure that Travis got a place in the team. But as the old adage goes: It’s better late than never.
What does this say about the West Indian panel of selectors? This man has been literally knocking at the door and screaming to be let in, and still he was repeatedly ignored. Instead, the WI selectors would continue giving players who have been tried and tested but who were yet to produce an innings of substance, many chances to play in the team. I would not bother to name those players, because I know many of you have already committed to memory the names of a few of them.
For those of you who don’t know, Travis Dowlin is a Guyanese right-handed, middle-order batsman who moonlights as an off-spinner. He has played a total of 73 first-class matches since his debut in 1996/97 and has a total of 3,259 first-class runs to his name, which includes 4 centuries and 19 half centuries, and a career best of 176 not out. His first-class batting average is 29.62. He also has a very good 20/20 average of 46.33. Not bad for a middle-order batsman, I dare say.
Many Guyanese have wondered why this young man was constantly overlooked by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). In many a cricket discussion Guyanese could be heard wondering aloud if it was the fact that Travis was not baptized at the altar of the WICB and therefore did not have a godfather in the selection panel to claim him, and that this resulted in him being constantly overlooked.
But it’s Travis’s time now and I wish him all the success in his professional cricketing career. I hope he does well for himself, his home country, and for the team which he is now representing.
Play on Travis! Guyanese everywhere are supporting you!
Yours faithfully,
Richard Francois
