Dear Editor,
The call from an injured Chris Gayle was loud and clear: “Get Ramnaresh Sarwan here now!” Gayle made this plea after he was injured and knew he would not have been able to play in the final test match and the upcoming one-day series against South Africa.
In the meantime, Sarwan was in the Caribbean decimating bowlers and showing every conceivable sign that he was ready and capable to return to the West Indies squad after his lengthy hiatus due to injury.
I sat glued to my television and roamed the internet hoping to hear or read that Sarwan, in very dramatic fashion, had arrived in South Africa to help his team compete for the rest of the tour. I sat and sat and sat some more, but my expectation never did materialise; Sarwan never made the flight and the West Indies got a sound thrashing.
For this fiasco, I can only blame the West Indies Cricket Board; what an incompetent bunch. If the board manages the affairs of West Indies cricket as though it were a business, why would they sell a diluted product (the current West Indies team) when they had the opportunity to strengthen it with a principle ingredient (Sarwan).
Yours faithfully,
Clinton Urling