By Anthony Foster, Freelance WriterSHOULD THE Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) be blamed for what happened to Jerome Taylor in Zimbabwe?
West Indies assistant coach Kenny Benjamin warned about the well-being of young fast bowlers earlier this year.
Benjamin, a certified West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) level II coach, made a plea to territorial boards to put the interests of West Indies ahead of each island's. Continuing with that line of argument he recommended that Jamaican Taylor and Barbadian Fidel Edwards be excused from the Red Stripe Bowl regional one-day tournament to facilitate strengthening work.
Dr. Michael Seepersaud, the Chief Cricket Development Officer of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), said Benjamin's advice was sound but "a lot of people took it as a joke".
Seepersaud said Benjamin, who was just appointed assistant coach of the regional side, spent time with Taylor last year and he understood the problems the youngster was having, which was why he made such a recommendation, Seepersaud told The Gleaner this week.
"I am not satisfied with their strength I believe after the last series they (Edwards and Taylor) should have been rested for a couple of weeks. They should have gone on a three-month comprehensive strengthening programme," Benjamin said of the two players who made their West Indies debut against Sri Lanka earlier this year.
Benjamin's statement was also in line with that uttered by captain Brian Lara who said the pacers, both of whom are slender and stand under 5' 10, "need to put some meat on their bones".
However, the Ruddy Williams-led JCA selection panel on Thursday, August 21, ignored the former West Indian fast bowler's appeal by naming the pencil-slim quickie in Jamaica's Red Stripe Bowl training squad.
"We (selectors) all agreed to select Taylor," Williams told The Gleaner at that time. "I disagree with what he (Benjamin) said."
After what happened to Taylor, Seepersaud warned the selectors, "yes, you want to win, you want to play the guy, but let's remember the interests of the youngster.
"We all want to win, but we need to care for the guy. We really need to take care of him and look after him. He (Taylor) is a jewel and we want him to be playing for the next 10 years or more, at least," Seepersaud said.
"I would say two things to regional selectors. When we have these youngsters coming through and we do the biomechanics diagnosis, 1. Take it seriously, 2. When you play these youngsters be careful."
Seepersaud said he would like to see territorial boards monitor the workload of their youngsters better and not let them play too much cricket.
"They must be willing to rest players, just to protect them. Captains need to be called in and they need to understand the implications to some of the young players," he said.
Chairman of Jamaica selection panel, Williams, said Taylor wasn't the only young pacer playing in the Red Stripe Bowl. He pointed to Ravi Rampaul and Edwards as two other young players who represented their countries.
"I did not get any order not to play him," Williams said.
"If he doesn't play in these competitions, how will he develop and gain experience to play at Test level," he said.
In a one-on-one interview with The Gleaner last year after the fast bowling clinic in Antigua, Taylor said, "the coaches (Benjamin and Andy Roberts) said I was leaning away during my run-up".
Again, Seepersaud said during the Dr. Richard Stretch biomechanics clinic at Sabina Park that they found out Taylor was leaning to his left, which would cause pressure on the lower back.
After leaving the field on Tuesday, team manager Ricky Skerritt confirmed that "Jerome (Taylor) has a strained joint in his lower back".
