Dear Editor,
Outstanding series victory by the West Indies over England, the region is proud of you. WI should have won the series in Grenada. These kinds of scenarios are hard on the heart. Perhaps because of the colonial history between the West Indies and England, WI seem to turn up the heat against them. Don’t forget, we also won the ODI series, and we didn’t even qualify for the ODI World Cup. Now if we lost either series, fans would lambast the team for losing against a second-string England, but as we are victorious, critics will shake it off because it was a squad with a bunch of newbies. It doesn’t matter, England is England, WI did the double over them, and the team should be congratulated for their success.
Whether we like it or not, franchise cricket has contributed to this success. Our players have been seasoned in franchise cricket to be able to perform under such pressures, when previously we would’ve crumbled. A case in point, the 1983 World Cup Final, the 1996 Quarter Final against Australia, the 2006 Champ-ions Trophy Final and the 2014 T20 Final against Sri Lanka to name a few. The cracks still need to be repaired. I agree with Darren Bravo’s decision to reject selection for the Australia tour. Since players are unavailable, now Haynes has made a call to Bravo as a last resort. He pretty much confirmed that there is an agenda against and preference for certain players, he can’t play in that mindset.
The criteria for selection need to be ironed out. On that note, why isn’t Hope recalled for the test series against Australia, he is traveling Down Under anyway? Holder practically plays every game, he needs to manage his workload and regain his form in Tests, as a matter of fact he needs to add another level or reinvent his style to be effective in Tests for the region, we must respect his decision. We are all set to challenge for the T20 World Cup, I reckon these victories will spill over in Australia, we could get a result against them in all formats, it’s unfortunate Seales is injured. Thanks for the Christmas gift West Indies! We’d like a Happy New Year as well!
Sincerely,
Kendell Karan
Chaguanas
