Tony BeccaJAMAICA'S PROTEST to the West Indies Cricket Board about the interference of the West Indies team management in the selection of Jamaica's team for the one-day match against South Africa is justified and the observations by president Jackie Hendriks on the ball.
Last Tuesday, on the eve of the match, the chief executive officer of the Jamaica Cricket Association received a note from the manager of the West Indies team telling him to inform the Jamaica selectors that three of the five Jamaicans in the West Indies squad were not available for selection.
As part of West Indies cricket, Jamaica, like the other territories, have a responsibility to West Indies cricket and should always act in the best interest of West Indies cricket. When it comes to the selection of territorial teams, however, neither the West Indies board nor any of its representatives, not its selectors and not its team management, should tell the territories what to do - either who to select or who not to select.
If for whatever reason the West Indies management sees the need for a player, or players to be rested, there is, as JCBC president wrote in the letter of protest, a right way to go about it.
According to Hendriks, himself a former chairman of the West Indies selection committee and manager of the West Indies team, if the West Indies, while preparing for a match, have a good reason why they do not want a player to be selected by any of the territories, the proper way to go about it is to discuss the matter with the territory's selectors.
That is the way it is usually done, that is the proper way for it to be done, that is the way it should be done and, hopefully, that is the way it will be done in the future.
West Indies cricket has a good structure. Basically it goes from school, to club, to the national teams and then to the West Indies team. It also has a simple selection system in which the schools select their teams, the clubs select their teams, the territories select their teams and with the best players then on parade, the West Indies select the team to represent the region.
Discussion at the top end must be good for West Indies cricket, it has been good for West Indies cricket, and it should be encouraged. There is, however, quite a difference between a discussion and an instruction, a request and a demand.
