BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – With questions still being raised about selectors’ choices for the squad for the Test tour of England, former opening batsman Philo Wallace has suggested that the reasons behind player selections and omissions be made public.
Speaking on the Mason & Guest cricket radio show on Tuesday night, Wallace said Cricket West Indies’ chief selector Roger Harper should offer more explanation instead of leaving the public to figure out the thinking behind the selection panel’s decisions.
“I need some clarity coming from the chief selector…. You don’t have to give us the nuts and bolts, but give us a bit more clarity on why players are not selected and why players are selected so people can feel comfortable,” he said.
The selectors have come in for criticism for omitting deserving players and including players who have not performed well, in the 25-member contingent – which includes a 14-man main squad and 11 reserves – currently in England for the historic three-Test series beginning next month.
Among the notable omissions was Guyanese left-arm spinner/right-handed batsman Veerasammy Permaul. That exclusion prompted harsh criticism from the Berbice Cricket Board and the Guyana Cricket Board which both demanded an explanation, given Permaul’s exceptional performance in recent years.
“I hope that they’ve spoken to Permaul because there is a selection policy that deals with performances so you have to always address it and you need to deal with it,” said Wallace, who was speaking on the radio show via Zoom, from England where he is pursuing a law degree.
As for Kraigg Brathwaite whose inclusion was a point of discussion, the retired Barbados and West Indies cricketer said the struggling opener “is here and he has to know what he has to do”, adding that batting coach Floyd Reifer “has a big job to get him to get confidence and try to get him to understand his role again as the anchor”.
Overall, Wallace described the chosen squad as “exciting”, particularly the fast bowling element.
In this regard, he suggested that fast bowlers Chemar Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, and captain Jason Holder, as well as spinners Rahkeem Cornwall and Roston Chase be included in the Windies bowling assault for the opening match.
“We don’t want England to go hiding. If you have four good fastbowlers coming at you there’s nowhere to hide and I think that Cornwall is going to be our matchwinner. He’s the man who is going to apply pressure… He’s a skillful bowler,” Wallace said.
As for the batting lineup, he stressed the batsmen at the top of the order needed to understand they had a vital role to “build a big total so the later middle order can come in and just cash in”.
No announcement has been made yet on which 11 out of the 25 West Indies players who left the region earlier this month would face the England side in the first Test of the “bio-secure” series at Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8-12. The second and third matches in the West Indies’ battle to retain the Wisden Trophy will be held at Old Trafford in Manchester July 16-20 and 24-28, respectively.
Wallace contended that a decision needed to be made sooner rather than later, given the short space of time between matches, and the mental preparation required for games that will be played behind closed doors because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They have four weeks to prepare, but then those Test matches are coming back to back, so recovery time is not easy. So, your starting 11 needs to know that they are going to be that starting 11 up front, so they can start preparing themselves mentally. Physically, yes, they will be ready, but mentally they have to be,” he noted.
