(Trinidad Guardian) West Indies players can now be selected to play in any format—Tests, Twenty20 (T20s) or One-Day Internationals (ODI)—even if they do not play in the corresponding domestic format.
Cricket West Indies Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe, confirmed this on Monday when asked via phone if players can selected for Tests without playing in the Regional First Class competition.
In the past, West Indies players were not selected if they did not play in the domestic competitions.
In 1995, opener Desmond Haynes was not selected for the West Indies home series against Australia, when a commitment with Western Province in South Africa’s Castle Cup caused him to miss Barbados’ first four-day match against Jamaica, despite finishing the Caribbean tournament with 470 runs at an average of 67.14 with a high score of 200.
Nineteen years later in 2014, offspinner Sunil Narine, who opted to play in the Indian Premier League final with Kolkata Knight Riders, missed the deadline to return home for the preparatory training camp for a Test series against New Zealand and was not selected.
Both Haynes and Narine never played a single Test after.
Over the years, with the emergence of franchise cricket, players have utilised the opportunity to earn millions of dollars from playing cricket. This development has been severe on national teams with West Indies being affected in a negative way.
Players have expressed interest to play in Tests but because of the schedule of cricket, it was not possible for them to return to the Caribbean to play First Class cricket.
In order to meet the players halfway, Bascombe said, they “are aware of the packed cricket schedules”.
The former West Indies cricketer used the upcoming England and Bangladesh tours as examples.
“We have England (tour to the Caribbean) running into the (Regional) Super 50 and then overlapping with the Bangladesh series.
It’s very possible that players who play in multiple formats may not be able to participate in Super 50,” said the Director of Cricket, adding it would be unfair to say that “they will not be able to represent West Indies”.
Bascombe said the old policy “could not stand up to the current intensity of cricket schedules”.
This development means that players like Shai Hope, Brandon King, and Nicholas Pooran, once they declare themselves available, can be selected by head coach Andre Coley for the Test series against Bangladesh.
However, former Tr&T cricketer and cricket analyst Andre Lawrence is cautious about the move.
“Developing a team involves a whole lot more,” Lawrence said.
“Let’s take Pooran for example, what sort of red-ball cricket has he played? How often has he played? When last he played that sort of format? Are they fit enough to play over a five-day Test?”
Despite the green light for the players to play red-ball cricket, the former opener wants to see them play the four-day game.
“The first class game is a completely different dynamic to the shortest format like a T10 or a T20. It involves different a type of training and a different type of mental approach,” said Lawrence.
Central Sports director Richard Ramkissoon says regional cricket was set up for a reason.
“I believe you have to make sure that you come through that system.”
Ramkissoon is looking at the bigger picture of development.
“When you look at the type of players getting selected to play with the regional team in comparison to Australia, England or even India, these guys have been playing much less cricket and scoring fewer runs or taking fewer wickets than their international counterparts. That exposure is not there for our international players.”
