BY BRYAN DAVIS
MY deepest and sincerest congratulations to Nicholas Pooran on the very good job he did as captain of the West Indies team in the just-concluded T20 series against the Australia team at the Daren Sammy cricket ground in St Lucia.
It was Pooran's first experience as a captain at this level, and to lead his team to such a convincing and comprehensive win versus a worthy top-class opponent like Australia took a certain amount of knowledge and the best use of it, a positive and determined outlook, plus strength of character.
Pooran had to lead seasoned campaigners like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Fidel Edwards, Dwayne and Darren Bravo, yet at no time did he look hesitant or out of place. He was in control of the efforts on the field and was not at all diffident or timid in his approach. I thought he revealed a marvellous temperament for the occasion. For someone still two and a half months shy of his 26th birthday, his attitude towards his players was always one of respect, regardless of their seniority or experience.
He was not perfect, but then again, who is?
The bottom line is that he held the Aussies on a tight rein, never giving them the freedom to take charge.
The one game his team lost was in the 4th match, when the margin of victory was a mere four runs. Indeed, Pooran had the backing of his team, which is a sign of a good captain; firstly, sound rapport with one's players, secondly, a healthy knowledge of cricket, and last but not least, deserving one's place on the side.
No matter how well one's team is performing, there is always room for improvement. Any good cricketer or intelligent cricket fan would admit that one could never exhaust the subject, nor can one ever cease to learn the rudiments of the game, regardless of the experience or heights of achievement attained.
I disagreed with the selection policy. It seems that the selectors decided that they were going to build their team for the T20 World Cup, which takes place in Oman and the United Arab Emirates, from October 17-November 14.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
However, let's look at the case of Shimron Hetmyer.
The Guyanese left-handed middle-order batsman was left out of the team after scoring a fine 61 run out while batting with the experienced Dwayne Bravo. WI won the match handsomely and Hetmyer was dropped for the three remaining games.
He has a very meagre average in T20 cricket of 20.68 yet his innings of 61 showed evidence of a developing maturity, which is what he needed, because he's superbly talented. Hence, after that confidence-booster, what was required was to give the young man, still only 24, the opportunity to build on his newfound self-assurance and maturity.
The young batsman must have been longing for another go at the Aussies.
There are three talented young batsmen in the squad.
They are Pooran, Hetmyer and Evin Lewis. Coincidentally, all are left-handed batsmen.
Nev
