Tony Becca - FROM THE BOUNDARY THE SELECTION of a West Indies squad is never perfect, it is usually followed by discussions over who should have been in and who should not have been out, and although this time is no exception, although the selectors probably could have done a bit better, there is one selection for which they should be commended.
In naming the 16-man squad for the tour of Zimbabwe, the selectors included 19-year-old pace bowler Ravi Rampaul and that is a good move for West Indies cricket.
Genuinely fast, Rampaul swings the ball, he cuts it off the seam, he gets it to bounce appreciably, based on his performance at the age group levels and during the recently-concluded Red Stripe Bowl tournament, he is a good competitor, he is a left-hander, and he will add another dimension to an attack boasting some talented, young fast bowlers.
According to those who witnessed the action in Zone B of the Bowl and who also were present at the semi-finals and the final, Rampaul was not only the fastest bowler in the tournament, he was also the most dangerous.
If one so young was really so good in the tournament, with his skills and after his performance at the youth level he deserves his place in the squad, and the selectors, who selected Jerome Taylor and then Fidel Edwards out of the blue, deserve a pat on the back for selecting him even though the squad appears unbalanced with six pace bowlers, seven batsmen and one spin bowler.
Selecting Rampaul in the squad is one thing, however, selecting him in the team is something else, hopefully, he will, like Taylor and Edwards, get a chance in Zimbabwe to prove his mettle.
Chances are, however, he will not get an opportunity to do so.
The selectors, the same ones who selected Taylor and Edwards, plus young wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh Jnr. and offspinner Omari Banks, have also selected pacers Mervyn Dillon and Vasbert Drakes in the squad and that must be questioned.
PROMISING
Regardless of how promising he was as a young bowler, Dillon has never really produced, Drakes has never been more than ordinary and even if one was considered necessary because of their so-called experience because of what some people call experience, it is disappointing that both are in and one like Daren Powell is out.
Powell, it is true, has had a few opportunities and because he was not as consistent as he should have been, he did not enjoy the success that many, including the selectors, believe he should have had.
It is also true, however, that Powell was in and out of the team, that he was never afforded the opportunity to settle in the team, that when it comes to pace, when it comes to aggression, he is superior to both Dillon and Drakes and to others who have been preferred over him and that he bowled well, very well, during the Red Stripe Bowl.
There are those who counter by saying that as well as he bowled, he did not get many wickets and that, too, is true.
Fast bowlers, however, hunt in pairs, sometimes in trios, sometimes in quartets, and the history of the game is filled with fast bowlers who, because of their accuracy, picked up many wickets because of the pace, the fire, coming from the other end.
Powell, especially with Jermaine Lawson out, should have been in and he should have been in over Dillon or Drakes. The fact that Dillon and Drakes have been playing longer than Powell does not mean that they are more experienced, and on top of that, neither one promises that even on his day, he can bowl a team to victory.
Powell, however, possesses the special gift of bowling fast, and apart from setting up batsmen for his colleague or colleagues, he promises that on his day he can drive fear into batsmen and power the West Indies on their way to victory.
What is interesting about the selection of Dillon and Drakes is that it is unlikely that they will be in Zimbabwe and not be selected in the team, and that means that despite the presence of Taylor and Edwards, who came in as youngsters and performed, and Rampaul, who is so gifted, the three pacers in the West Indies team could well be Dillon, Drakes and Corey Collymore.
That would be an interesting attack even against Zimbabwe.
