CWI to revamp selection policy

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

Cricket West Indies (CWI) is set to revamp its selection policy in an effort to rid the process of “politics or petty emotional situations”, in a move geared towards having the best squad selected for the upcoming ICC World Cup.

New president Ricky Skerritt said the selection policy had come under heavy scrutiny ever since he and Vice-President Dr Kishore Shallow assumed the reins of the regional governing body two weeks ago, and it was now hoped that the changes would result in a broadening of the selection pool.

“In the last two weeks, one of the most critical points that has been embedded as a selection policy is that if a player can still get selected for the team, they must be considered,” Skerritt told cricket website, Cricbuzz.

“There must be no reason for non-consideration other than cricket or medical or physical health. No administrative issues, politics or petty emotional situations must prohibit or prevent players from being considered for selection.”

New Cricket West Indies president, Ricky Skerritt.

He continued: “The last 10, 11 days since the election, we’ve been bringing in changes in terms of personnel and policies to make sure that we can reach out to everybody who wants to play for West Indies.
WIDE SLATE

“The people responsible for selecting, managing and leading the squad to the World Cup have been reaching out to players who may be interested, to let them know that the policy has changed and to be clear whether they are available or not, so that when the group gets together next week to make their final decision on the squad, they have as wide a slate to choose from as possible.”

Selection politics has remained a perennial issue in West Indies cricket but became a major talking point in recent years as the relationship between senior players and the Dave Cameron-led CWI administration frayed.

Darren Sammy was inexplicably axed as captain and dropped from the squad five months after guiding West Indies to the capture of the Twenty20 (T20) World Cup in India three years ago, with many believing the move was as a result of his controversial public criticism of Cameron and CWI’s handling of player issues in the lead-up to the tournament.

Similarly, recently retired all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was never picked again in a one-day squad after playing a key role in the contentious, abandoned tour of India in 2014. He was also sacked from the T20 squad in 2016 following the disastrous tour against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, which followed the firing of head coach Phil Simmons – a development subsequently criticised by Bravo.

He also suggested that West Indies would favour homegrown coaches going forward, with a policy that stipulates that four out of every five backroom staff members must be of West Indian origin.