Tony Becca - FROM THE BOUNDARY ONE of the hardest jobs in sport is the selection of a cricket team. Sometimes, however, it is easy, very easy, and that should be the case when the national selectors meet in another two days or so to select the 14-man squad for the regional Red Stripe Bowl limited-overs tournament.
The tournament is scheduled to get under way on October 1 and although that is more than two weeks away, the West Indies Board has ruled that the squads of all the participating teams must be selected and presented to it by Friday.
Regardless of whether they are strong or weak, while that may be a bit tight for some selectors because of the battle for places, it should be no problem for Jamaica's selectors.
NO PROBLEM FOR SELECTORS
In recent years, Jamaica have been blessed with some young, talented players, and looking at batsmen like Donovan Pagon and Tamar Lambert, fast bowlers such as Kamal Dennis and Dwight Washington, wicketkeepers like Keith Hibbert and Matthew Sinclair, and spin bowlers like Ryan Cunningham, Odean Brown and Bevon Brown, under normal circumstances the selectors would have a difficult time choosing the squad.
Fortunately for the Jamaica selectors, however, and thanks to the West Indies selectors, who have recognised and rewarded the talent in Jamaica, they have little to do but wait to hear who is the captain and then tick off 13 names.
The reason for that is that in Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Ricardo Powell, David Bernard Jnr., Gareth Breese, Carlton Baugh Jnr., Daren Powell and Jerome Taylor, Jamaica boast nine West Indies players, and regardless of how talented the likes of Pagon, Lambert and company may be, they simply will have to wait a while.
As far as the 11 is concerned, the selectors, who have recommended Robert Samuels as captain, will probably only have to select one more player and based on talent and performance, that also should be as easy.
All things considered, Robert Samuels should be returned as captain, and based on his talent and his performance when called into action last year, Brenton Parchment should be one of the 11.
Eleven from 14 leaves three and again that should be no problem for the selectors.
Based on the 11 that should take the field - an 11 that would include six specialist batsmen, two allrounders not counting the specialist batsmen who bowl, and two fast bowlers, one should be a batsman, two should be fast bowlers, and they should be Shawn Findlay, Andrew Richardson and Evon McInnis.
Findlay, a tall lefthander, is a wonderful timer of the ball and a confident stroke player; Richardson, stalled by injuries after looking so good as a Jamaica and West Indies Youth player, is bowling well and seems ready to deliver; and McInnis has been bowling well for some time. He was good during the past season, and certainly up to when he left for Florida on Friday, he has been the player of the practice matches.
Selectors have a way of springing surprises. Such are the credentials of nine players, however, such is the experience of one, and such is the talent of four that this time there is, or should be, no room for any surprise - not even one.
