Tony Becca - FROM THE BOUNDARY THE WEST Indies squad for the first two Test matches against England includes five fast bowlers and not surprisingly, Mervyn Dillon and Vasbert Drakes are not among them.
Numbered among them, however, is Dwight Washington, and as promising as he is, as well as he seemed to have bowled while representing the West Indies B during the Carib Beer Series, that is a surprise, and for some good reasons.
Remembering that the territorial teams have first pick, the first reason is that Washington represented the West Indies B because he was not selected to represent Jamaica, and even without counting Jermaine Lawson and Jerome Taylor, with Daren Powell, Andrew Richardson, Evon McInnis and Dwight Mais representing Jamaica, that means there were four Jamaican fast bowlers ahead of him.
The second reason is that while Washington took 20 wickets at an average of 22.00 with best figures of three for 23, returned a strike rate of 48.80 and an economy rate of 2.70, Richardson, who certainly bowled well, took 30 wickets at an average of 18.23 with best figures of five for 42, returned a strike rate of 36.20 and an economy rate of 3.02.
The third reason is that for one like Washington, who was not selected to represent Jamaica, to be selected over one like Richardson, who was selected to represent Jamaica, his performance, based on wickets taken, should be far better, and obviously that was not the case.
SELECTORS
The fourth reason is that apart from suggesting that national selectors, who should know their players better than the regional selectors, do not know what they are doing, it sends a bad signal to players who are selected to represent their national team, who perform for their national team, and who are bypassed for players over whom they were selected and who have not performed as well.
Remembering that so many have come and gone without a trace because they were put into the firing line too early and were ruined, the fifth and very important reason is that Test cricket is for the best, it is hard work, and but for the few with exceptional talent, players, particularly bowlers, should be allowed to develop their skills and to gain some experience before they are exposed at that level.
Selectors Viv Richards, Joey Carew, Gordon Greenidge and captain Brian Lara are experienced and knowledgeable, apart from moving Carlton Baugh Jnr, straight from the B team to the Test team, last year they plucked fast bowler Fidel Edwards from nowhere, he was an immediate success, and who's to tell, if Washington gets into the final XI, he too may also be a success.
That, however, would not make the selection right, and the selectors should be asked why is all this happening, why are so many young, inexperienced players being selected to represent the West Indies after simply looking good or after one or two good performances?
They may not answer, or they may simply say they are exposing talent and building for the future. So many have been in and out after one or two games and apparently forgotten, however, that that does not seem to the case.
It seems to be one of two things. It seems that the selectors and the captain are in a hurry to win and cannot wait for talented young players to mature - either that or if one of them becomes great, someone wants to be remembered as the one who saw him and selected him.
