'Small Islands' Get Raw Deal
Mon, Jun 26, '06
When a radio journalist from St Kitts-Nevis asked his now infamous "Godfather" question of Darren Ganga during the 3rd Test against India, it set tongues wagging regionally and further afield.
Labels such as crass and boorish were quickly used. Ryan Patrick of this web site upped the ante by questioning the man's journalistic integrity in daring to question Darren Ganga on his suitability for selection.
While the question may not have seemed to fit the usually decorous and polite line of questioning usually followed at press conferences of this type, it came from a deeper wellspring of bitterness at the continued ill-treatment of players from the Windward and Leeward Islands from a succession of selectors.
The inference that Morton should have been the preferred choice ahead of Ganga might not have even been relevant in this case, given captain Brian Lara's statistical illumination of the partnerships when Gayle and Ganga start an innings.
But, cold hard statistics also points to the fact that players like Sylvester Joseph had a very good season both with the bat and at the helm of the West Indies A team in the recent home series against England A.
Devon Smith was also home and available for that 'A' series while waiting to travel to New Zealand on senior team duty, and was ignored by the selectors, and not even given a chance to get some match practice in against quality opposition ahead of traveling.
Little wonder that he just filled a role as drinks carrier for that entire series.
Rawl Lewis, a standout spinner at the regional level for a number of years and a veritable one Test wonder for his entire career seemed to have finally broken through when long time selector Joey Carew said of him, "I am not sure whether we shouldn't give Rawl Lewis an extended run at this level..."
This run extended itself all of one Test before Rawl Lewis once again disappeared off the radar.
In this case, however, spinners have always been given short thrift by the selectors so this may just be a case of the type of player that Lewis is rather than his geographical roots.
Then there is Adam Sanford. He went out to South Africa as a replacement player, was selected in the final Test eleven, then literally penciled for Merv Dillon out by Captain Brian Lara right before the toss.
On the return to the Caribbean, twenty eight players were named to prepare for an upcoming series, and Adam Sanford's name was nowhere to be seen.
It has definitely become a pattern.