- File
Tayor (left) and Edwards. At right, Benjamin... "I believe that it is more important (not to play) than bowling a couple overs for their countries."
Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer
FORMER WEST Indies fast bowler Kenneth Benjamin has warned Jamaica and Barbados selectors to keep pacers Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards away from the regional Red Stripe Bowl one-day cricket tournament which is tentatively set for October.
The former Antigua player said territories should not only think about winning, but also about the interests of "West Indies cricket first and foremost".
"The selectors (in those countries) should concentrate on providing quality players for the West Indies to win. It should be West Indies first, then territory. That's how the entire region should be thinking. You can't sacrifice the future of our fast bowling to win the Red Stripe Bowl," Benjamin was quoted as saying on CaribbeanCricket.com website.
The Gleaner caught up with the former Worcestershire player at G.C. Foster College where he is working with students at the George Headley Centre of Excellence/Mini Academy and he backed his position over Taylor, 19, and 21-year-old Edwards.
"I believed that it is more important (not to play) than bowling a couple overs for their countries, because in the long run I think that is the most important thing for them getting stronger and not just participating in a tournament, for the sake of winning the tournament", Benjamin, a WICB-certified fast bowling coach, who worked with both Taylor and Edwards at a recent camp in Antigua, said.
At the end of the Sri Lanka tour, West Indies captain Brian Lara, who said Taylor and Edwards should be on the next tour (to Zimbabwe), wanted to see them stronger.
"I want to see them stronger, fitter and hopefully they can last longer periods," Lara said after the Sri Lanka match at Sabina Park.
Benjamin said: "I am not satisfied with their strength I believe after the last series they should have been rested for a couple weeks, they should have gone in a three-month comprehensive strengthening programme."
The 36-year-old medium pacer went on to say: "A lot of guys have technical faults in their bowling action and probably their delivery. We want to make sure that the guys are very safe and when I looked at Fidel and Taylor there's no doubt they are very talented and they have some pace."
The candid Benjamin, who has been linked to the West Indies assistant coaching job, said he is not a expert in the physical department, but "I would want them to go and see a specialist, do some tests, see the area in which they weak".
According to Benjamin, when you look at Fidel, the younger brother of Pedro Collins, "his groin is probably under a lot strain and also his lower back. These are some of the areas I would recommend that they do some serious research in".
.JPG)
