ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Teenaged batsman Rakheem Cornwall is the lone newcomer in a Leeward Islands 14-man squad named yesterday for the Caribbean Twenty20 Championship starting next week but selectors have made several bold changes.
The 17-year-old is one of five changes to the Leewards squad which shared the WICB One-Day Championship title after the final against Barbados finished in a tie in Jamaica last November.
Experienced hands like Omari Banks, former captain Steve Liburd and Javia Liburd have all been left out from the squad which will be led again by the veteran 37-year-old Wilden Cornwall.
There is also no Shane Jeffers who played in the inaugural CT20 last July and the trio of Kerry Mentore, Kadeem Phillip and Jason Campbell from that tournament are also gone.
“I’m not too sure if you want to call it a changing of the guard. This is a new dispensation under my guidance as coach. The chairman of selectors (Percy Daniel) and the other selectors felt that’s the way we were going to go based on what we saw,” coach Leon Rodney told CMC Sports.
“There are a number of guys who have played for a little while and there were a lot of questions about some players … we needed to make a change and give them the opportunity to go back in the nets and look at themselves.”
From the one-day squad, the Liburd duo, Banks, along with Calvin Williams and Gavin Williams have made way for Rakheem Cornwall, stroke-maker Kieran Powell, Tonito Willett, Kelbert Walters and Devon Thomas.
Rodney said that Rakheem Cornwall, a burly right-hander, had impressed selectors after playing for the Leewards in the West Indies Under-19 tournament last year and for Antigua in the Leeward Islands Cricket Association tournament.
“Not only me but he impressed all the selectors during the Leeward Islands tournament. Maybe he was a little bit unfortunate not to come to Jamaica with us [for the one-day] tournament,” Rodney said.
“Fortunately he did reasonably well in the training sessions that we had and we felt that he deserved an opportunity.”
The bowling attacking will be lead by seamer Lionel Baker with West Indies A pacer Gavin Tonge and Wilden Cornwall in support and off-spinner Justin Athanaze and leg-spinner Anthony Martin providing the slow options.
The Leewards will play in Group B of the January 10-23 tournament alongside Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Canada and English County Hampshire.
SQUAD – Wilden Cornwall (captain), Lionel Baker (vice-captain), Montcin Hodge, Jahmar Hamilton, Chesney Hughes, Jacques Taylor, Justin Athanaze, Tonito Willett, Kelbert Walters, Rakheem Cornwall, Anthony Martin, Gavin Tonge, Keiran Powell, Devon Thomas.
