BY BRYAN DAVIS
FROM whatever angle we observe the 2021 WorldCupT20, which is almost completed, West Indies’ non-performance will be the subject occupying the minds and hearts of Caribbean people.
The results are such that blame could be cast everywhere.
The poor efforts of the batsmen are first on the list. Next is the preparation of the team. Then, the selection of the squad was short on imagination and deficient in knowledge.
The players, of course, did not choose themselves; hence the selectors are to blame. The squad ought to have been a balance of experience and youth and not weighted on one side or the other.
And that is what it means to be a good selector. To do these things right and get the best results, one has to have an eye for talent, the ability of a youngster in whom one can see the potential that only needs exposure. Just like the present senior players, who had been chosen in the past because of the vision of selectors of the day.
[caption id="attachment_923286" align="alignnone" width="860"] Australia’s Josh Hazlewood, right, reacts after dismissing West Indies’ Shimron Hetmyer, left, during the ICC Twenty20 World Cup match in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Saturday. AP Photo -[/caption]
Chris Gayle was a thoughtless selection. He’s 42 years old and has struggled with the bat for one international 50 since 2016. He’s sluggish in the field and while batting, his footwork is too lazy against the spinners, plus his reflexes are too slow for the faster bowlers. He received a medical exemption from CWI because they knew he could not pass a fitness test. He also treated all games in a light-hearted manner.
Lendl Simmons is 37 years old and is past his best, not now but for some time. A selector who knows his cricket will observe that without having to be told.
Andre Russell is lame. A blind man could see that. He has been plagued with physical fitness problems for a long time and it certainly got the better of him this time. He was also injured in the IPL and has been out of the game for a month.
Although he underwent treatment, it would have taken time to repair. During that time he was unable to practise. Hence, to watch him in the practice games against Pakistan and Afghanistan before the tournament began, it wouldn’t have taken a dimwitted trainer to tell that Russell was nowhere near fitness. Furthermore, his batting only ever comes off once in every five innings; he’s never consistent. His bowling is very average. And he was terribly unfit. I’m sure he had a medical exemption.
Kieron Pollard at 34 years old, has not been scoring runs in franchise cricket and never looked at ease in these international games. He’s a main man in this lineup and if he’s not firing, the entire team is affected.
[caption id="attachment_897755" align="alignnone" width="900"] Bryan Davis[/caption]
I feel certain he did not undergo a fitness test before the series but had a medical exemption; additionally, he has been having problems
