Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) president, Bissoondyal Singh, has engaged with Cricket West Indies President, Ricky Skerritt and Vice-President, Dr Kishore Shallow, on the continued omission of Guyanese players.
This is according to a press release issued on Tuesday which stated, “President of the GCB, Mr. Bissoondyal Singh, on August 02, 2021 intervened by discussing with CWI President Ricky Skerritt the selection issue in general and the continuing omission of Guyanese players in particular. On August 03, 2021, President Singh also had a discussion with CWI Vice-President Dr. Kishore Shallow on the very matters.” This intervention stemmed from the selection of only four Guyanese within the 56-member West Indies under-19 training squad for next year’s youth World Cup in the Caribbean.
“This is despite GCB’s considerable investment in playing trial matches with live stream feeds and commentary within the region. Though these matches were affected by rain, the players’ and the GCB’s commitment cannot be over stated,” the release added.
The four players selected are: Matthew Nandu, Mavindra Dindyal, Isai Thorne, and Rampertab Ramnauth. CWI noted that the players have begun to arrive in Antigua where along with targeted coaching sessions, the players will also compete in
warm-up matches and more intense “trial” matches at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and Coolidge Cricket Ground international venues. The final squad of 18 players will be selected for the West Indies Rising Stars U19 Tour of England in September where they will play six Youth One-Day Internationals.
A release from CWI indicated, High Performance Manager Graeme “West thanked the various Territorial Boards for helping to facilitate the unusual selection process and more customized preparation approach, which became necessary due to the evolving and unpredictable COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. He also outlined the contribution of a few of those CWI coaches who have played a key role in developing the Rising Stars programme.”
The GCB release highlighted, “The GCB remains firm in its position that Guyana has a number of very talented under-19 cricketers who must be recognized by the Regional Selectors and whose names will once again be forwarded to CWI with a request for them to be added to the squad.”
Additionally, the release mentioned that GCB “was obliged to take issue with CWI over the omission of Veerasammy Permaul, Shimron Hetymer, and Romario Shepherd, from the Senior Regional Team for the series against South Africa.”
It also noted that GCB has requested a copy of the CWI Selection Criteria Policy as the body “continue[s] to diligently monitor the selection processes of CWI to ensure there is a level playing field across the region.”
Full Squad (with home territories)
Barbados: Rivaldo Clarke, Hakeem Perryman, Tariq O’Neale, Johann Layne, Shaqkere Parris, Nimar Bolden, Giovonte Depeiza, Kwame Patton, Kamario Grant, Achilles Brown, and Romario Brathwaite.
Guyana: Matthew Nandu, Mavindra Dindyal, Isai Thorne, and Rampertab Ramnauth.
Jamaica: Brandon English, Steven Wedderburn, Jordan Johnson, Justin Beckford, Andel Gordon, Nicholas Lewin, Oneil Roberts, Javid Simpson, Tamari Redwood, and Gavasta Edmond.
Leeward Islands: Jaden Carmichael, Akadianto Willett, Anderson Amurdan, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett, Onaje Amory, Kelvin Pittman, and Nathan Edward.
Trinidad and Tobago: Shiva Sankar, Matthew Gittens, Sion Hackett, Anderson Mahase, Isaiah Gomez, Vasant Singh, Aaron Bankay, Kyle Roopchand, Jeremiah Cruickshank, Nick Ramlal, Tariq Mohammed, Justin Jaggessar, Amrit Dass, Chaydon Raymond, Rajiv Ramnath, and Kyle Kissoondath.
Windward Islands: Divonie Joseph, Udell Preville, Tyran Theodore, Ackeem Auguste, Teddy Bishop, McKenny Clarke, Tiron Charles, and Keygan Arnold.
