Last Saturday, sarcastic cheering and applauding rippled across the Caribbean Sea, as a statement emanating from Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced that the contracts of Chairman of the Selection Panel Roger Harper and fellow Selector Miles Bascombe, which expire on the 31st December, would not be renewed.
Under the caption, ‘CWI to commence recruitment for Senior Men’s Selection Panel’ the press release stated that CWI was recruiting a new Men’s Selection Panel in January, replacing Harper and Bascombe. It continued, “An Interim Selection Panel has been established, with Head Coach Phil Simmons at the helm, along with the captains in the respective men’s formats. Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket, will oversee the process.” The release also included the standard politically correct statement which thanked “both gentlemen [who] performed their roles with unprecedented transparency and dignity.”
The last few months have been a testing time for the battle-weary West Indies cricket fan. There was the humiliating performance – perhaps appearance might be the more appropriate word — at the T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai in October, the 0-2 Test series sweep in Sri Lanka and 0-3 Twenty20 International whitewash in Pakistan. Off the field, the nine positive COVID-19 test results returned by six players and three officials during the Pakistan trip led to the rescheduling of the three ODIs to June next year and the subsequent termination of the tour.
During the two years of this Selection Panel’s time in office the West Indies have been woeful, to say the least. In 16 Test matches over eight series, the West Indies won five, lost nine and drew two. In the process, they lost four series, drew two, and managed to win two, the highlight of which was winning 2-0 in Bangladesh, a feat which no other nation – not Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka or Pakistan — had managed to accomplish since 2012. In 21 ODIs, they emerged victorious on 11 occasions, while losing 25 of 39 T20 Internationals.
The writing of the replacement of the Selection Panel has been on the wall ever since the West Indies team for the T20 World Cup was posted on CWI website on the 9th September, 2021 at 4:52 pm. All West Indies cricket fans knew immediately that those selected were incapable of defending their title. Former Test Captain Jason Holder, the highly ranked ICC all rounder had been regulated to the role of a reserve, and, inexplicably fitness exemptions had been issued to the over-the-hill gang members Chris Gayle and Ravi Rampaul. This column (SN, Not Again, 22/09/21) in its summation observed, “The time has come for accountability. The T20 World Cup Final takes place on 14th November and if the West Indies don’t successfully defend their title, the Selection Panel of Roger Harper, Miles Bascombe and Phil Simmons should do the honourable thing and tender their resignations by noon on 15th November.”
The die was cast when the hapless West Indies lost four of their five matches, and the chant immediately commenced around the region for the replacement of the selectors. CWI President Ricky Skerritt, who witnessed first hand the final two West Indian disasters, later stated, “…what will not happen… is any knee-jerk, anger-based, emotional decision about cricket, certainly not while I’m president.” Well, he is singing a different tune now. While speaking to Cricbuzz about the dismissals Skerritt said there was nothing more to say as the statement itself was enough.
As the news of the sacking spread across the region, misleading headlines such as, ‘Cricket West Indies sacks entire panel’ accompanied the story. The third member of the selection panel, Coach Simmons, whose four-year contract runs until October 2023, not only retains his place, but is now the Chairman of the Interim Selection Panel, and will most likely be a member of the new committee. Keen followers of West Indies cricket are completely dumbfounded by this development. It is very difficult to believe that Simmons’ influence on that squad chosen for the T20 World Cup was not unduly heavy. One ridiculous suggestion making the rounds after the Dubai calamity was that Simmons, Captain Keiron Pollard and Vice-Captain Nicholas Pooran sat down under a tree in the Savannah in Port-of-Spain and selected another five fellow Trinidadians before picking the other members of the team. As the old adage goes, “Many a true thing passes as a joke”.
It is pretty obvious to all and sundry that horse trading is taking place behind closed doors here and Harper and Bascombe are just the fall guys this time around. In normal circumstances, which really do not exist in the Caribbean, the change would have been complete. Can CWI explain why the services of Simmons have been retained? Is it just because he has a long-term contract? His record as coach is appalling, and he was a member of the selection panel, hence, logically, he should also be shown the door.
Whilst the fans wait with bated breath for the appointment of the new brains trust to pave the way for the revival of West Indies cricket, the Interim Panel will convene to select the teams for the CG International Series versus Ireland scheduled for January in Jamaica. Apparently, the three ODIs and the T20I were shifted to Sabina Park to accommodate the request of the Golden Child of West Indies cricket, Chris Gayle, to say farewell to his home crowd. There, he will probably and most fittingly reveal his availability for the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup slated for Australia in October and November. This revelation will no doubt make life so much easier for the new panel when it comes time to select the team for that tournament.
With everyone else still in place, save for Messieurs Harper and Bascombe, it would not be surprising if eight or nine players from the Dubai fiasco take the field on January 16th for the one-off T20 game. The Standard Operating Procedure for West Indies cricket is still in place: plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose –the more things change, the more they stay the same. Save the applause.
