Georgetown Cricket Association’s representative on the Demerara Cricket Board selection panel Roderick Lovell yesterday denied lobbying for players to be excluded from the Demerara team for the recent Twenty20 Inter-county competition.
“Contrary to reports carried in the media, I would like to make it clear that I never lobbied for any player’s exclusion from the Demerara team.
Lovell, a former national fast bowler had called an impromptu meeting with certain sections of the media yesterday to clear the air and his name with respect to allegations levelled against him by the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB).
“I went into the meeting with the intention of selecting the best team to represent Demerara in the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)/Pepsi/Carib Beer Inter-county Twenty20 competition and, had I gone ahead with certain things that were being executed in that meeting, it would have lasted for a mere five minutes,” he said.
The 36-year-old Lovell, who made his first class debut against Barbados in 1998, was referring to a meeting of the Demerara Cricket Board selection committee used to select the Demerara team for the competition.
“What actually took place in that meeting is being kept from the public,” Lovell said.
He said that the acting chairman of selectors and the other two selectors had the team listed.
“It was evident that they were waiting for me to affix my signature to endorse their selections without any questions being asked,” Lovell told reporters yesterday.
”I did question the arrival of the 14-man squad they had listed, taking into consideration no trial matches were being held,” he added.
Lovell said he questioned whether it would not have been wiser to shortlist a 20-man squad following which 14 players could have been selected but received no answer.
“I even asked the chairman if he had a composition of the team he would like selected and all he told me was that he has three openers, to which I said there was no need for and also gave reasons why.”
“I also informed the selection panel that from a cricketers’ point of view if we continue to thrust young cricketers into the 20/20 mould, we would be losing them faster than we could even blink an eye.”
He added that such a move would be detrimental towards the development of the game here.
Lovell said he was surprised at the reasons being given for the inclusion of Mavericks Cricket Club’s Maxwell Fraser ahead of Guyana and Demerara Cricket Club’s Darwin Christian in the wicket-keeping department.
“If they want to say that I questioned something, `yes they can say so’, as I did question the inclusion of Maxwell Fraser ahead of Darwin Christian.”
Lovell said he was informed by the chairman of the competitions committee of the West Demerara Cricket Association, that Fraser was the best ‘keeper in the county of Demerara.
“This statement was endorsed by the other two selectors present, including the acting chairman, who could not say whether or not Christian had any disciplinary matters pending, after earlier stating that he (Christian) had absconded from the Guyana national team during a tour to Canada earlier this year.
“It must be noted, that the same Christian in question, kept wicket for Guyana in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) President’s Cup limited overs competition which was won by Trinidad and Tobago.
Lovell also expressed his displeasure at the way the DCB president handled the situation.
“If Mr. Bissoondial Singh claims to be a professional and very just in handling matters when it relates to the DCB, why did he not call me and enquire of me what went wrong that prompted me to ask for an excuse from the selection meeting?”
Lovell said the DCB president was not present at the meeting but was on record saying that he had lobbied for a certain set of players to be excluded from the team.
Sarwan/Forde
Lovell stated that another dilemma which arose was the inclusion of Ravi Sarwan for Orin Forde which he was totally against, since he feels that Forde is the better player who is suitable for that type of game.
“He (Forde) can better serve the team as a batsman in the position they wanted Sarwan to bat, number seven. His robust style of hitting is adaptable for that position compared to Sarwan’s, whom the acting chairman stated can add variety to the bowling with his leg breaks.
“This clearly shows that he is not au fait with the players that he is selecting, as anyone in the cricket fraternity in Guyana would know that Sarwan bowls off spin and not leg spin. They wanted to carry it to a vote, which to my mind would have made no sense since I was outnumbered three to one. So I asked to be excused and was granted to do so.
“The GCA executives respect my knowledge of the game of cricket and it is with that in mind that they appointed me to that position and as long as they see it fit to have me remain in such a position, I do intend to execute my duties without fear or favor.”
