West Indies cricket fans who broke their self-imposed solitary confinement over the weekend, and returned to the reality of everyday life discovered that their nightmares of the past week were, and still are, real. The legend posted on September 9th, 2021, at 4:52 pm, on the Cricket West Indies website was still there:
“World Champions West Indies name squad to defend ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel today announced the West Indies squad for the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup, 2021. The panel named fifteen (15) players and four (4) travelling reserves for the marquee event which will be played in the United Arab Emirates and Oman from October 17 to November 14, 2021.
The squad reads: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr. Travelling Reserves: Darren Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein.”
The selectors have the unenviable task of picking the best possible squad to don the Maroon colours, and as in most instances, there will always be questions about who was or wasn’t chosen. However, this time around, it appears that the selectors have succeeded in offending a large majority of die-hard fans with their choices. Several players who performed creditably at the recent CPL have been ignored, while the ghosts of past campaigns have once again been unearthed, in spite of their frequent failures and ageing, and have found favour with the Selection Panel over the flamboyantly talented youth of the day.
On what grounds can the inclusion of the likes of Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo and Ravi Rampaul, whose best-by dates have long expired, be justified? Dressing room auditions for the Caribbean’s Got Talent? Heaping servings of self proclamations and singing? West Indies fans are shaking their heads in utter disgust. Here is the opportunity to blood three of the younger generation and the selectors have opted to do otherwise. There are no places for Sherfane Rutherford, Odean Smith or Romario Shepherd, while Jason Holder is relegated to the role of a reserve. Is this the path of change faithfully promised by the Skerritt Administration? It is as though nothing has changed. We are back at square one. Again.
The selection of Gayle is the most mind boggling of all. Last year February, Lewis and Hetmyer “missed out [on the ODI Series in Sri Lanka] due to the fact that they came up short in the fitness test,” in the words of the Chairman of Selectors Roger Harper. He added, “They will be missed. Lewis was the team’s best batsman in the recent Colonial Medical Insurance ODI Series against Ireland where he batted with great composure and proved the bedrock for the team’s series win. Hetmyer appeared to be getting his act together and was an integral part of the team’s batting group.” It appeared then that the West Indies had adopted a serious approach and the time of prima donnas had come to an end. How wrong we were.
Now, conveniently, the rules are amended for Gayle and Rampaul who were both exempt from fitness tests for this occasion. Young Rutherford and Sunil Narine who must have been in the selection discussions, failed their fitness tests, while Gayle gets a free pass. What is so special about Gayle? According to the Chairman, his experience will be of worth to the team. Really? This is a cricketer who claims that he doesn’t need to practice or observe curfews, and has cursed out a former West Indies Captain and teammate on YouTube (the video was still there as of writing). Is this the kind of ‘experience’ the Chairman wants in the West Indies dressing room?
Gayle talked his way into the squad for the 2019 World Cup team, which everyone assumed was his final send off. At the tournament he then shocked everyone at a news conference by declaring that he intended to play longer and wanted to return to Test cricket. Ridiculous statements are par for the course with Gayle. Who knows what utterings he will make at the T20 World Cup? Perhaps he will announce his availability for the ICC 2023 World Cup in India, or that he is next in line to be the West Indies batting coach. Nothing will surprise the fans.
It is blatantly obvious to one and all that something is terribly wrong with this picture. This heinous act can only be viewed as an insult to the intelligence of all West Indies cricket fans. If the selectors wanted a talisman they could have selected Carlos Braithwaite, whose heroic four sixes delivered the last title, but, in this instance, the self-anointed ‘Universal Boss’, is the chosen one despite having just eked out one 50 in 20 T20 internationals in the last three years.
It is fairly safe to conclude that a lot of horse trading is taking place behind closed doors, despite the transparency and accountability promised by CWI President Ricky Skerritt during his campaign for office. Jimmy Adams, CWI Director of Cricket, also falls under the microscope here. Did he use his influence to waive Gayle’s fitness test, which all and sundry suspect he is incapable of passing? As outrageous as it may sound, the question has to be asked: Was Gayle’s selection in any way tied to Jamaica’s support for Skerritt’s re-election as CWI President?
Clearly, the recommendations put forward by the CWI Task Force to review selection policy and accepted by CWI two years ago have been hop-scotched around, leaving Task Force member and former West Indies test player Philo Wallace ‘bamboozled’ and very concerned about the composition of future squads. Wallace, speaking on the Voice of Barbados talk show, Mason and Guest, echoed the frustrations of West Indies fans by seeking clarity where fitness standards and medical exemptions are concerned.
The time has come for accountability. The T20 World Cup Final takes place on 14th November and if the West Indies don’t successfully defend their title, the Selection Panel of Roger Harper, Miles Bascombe and Phil Simmons should do the honourable thing and tender their resignations by noon on 15th November. However, since honour no longer seems to be a pillar of West Indies cricket, perhaps that is too much to expect.
