The guy pictured in this post is Val Thomas, a ‘journalist’ representing Sugar City Rock, a St Kitts-Nevis radio station. Thomas is very upset that Daren Ganga was picked ahead of homeboy Runako Morton for the third Test so he decided he’d raise the issue at the post-play press conferences. Fair enough.

After play yesterday, he asked captain Brian Lara about it and got this answer:

“I don’t play politics. If there’s one thing I don’t have, it’s an insular bone. Also, we’re playing two genuine openers. They came out of New Zealand batting really well. Chasing 298, they had a good partnership and came out really well. When the door’s open for Runako Morton, the position was there because of credit. He will definitely get a run. I know Runako Morton, the guys love Runako Morton and he did well in New Zealand. He’s still here and hereabouts …. Daren is trying to repay the selectors or those who put him there.”

“Ganga played excellently. I had a chat with him this morning and he seemed to bat differently while playing as captain for T&T compared to playing for West Indies. People are always on his back, I suppose he’s always playing for his position. While as captain he has that responsibility and he seems to shake everything else off and bats excellently. We had a chat at breakfast, I don’t know if that helped but definitely he showed a lot more responsibility and looked more assured.”

Today, after Ganga scored a century, Thomas was at it again at the post-play press conference. He asked Ganga about his miserable Test average and whether he (Ganga) thought he had justified his place. Fair enough.

After Ganga’s answer, Thomas wasn’t satisfied so he followed up by asking Ganga who his “Godfather” was, an obvious reference to team selector Joey Carew. The idea was to embarrass Ganga because Morton was not selected in the final XI.

As an accredited journalist covering the Test, Thomas has the right to ask any question. But, in his haste to make Ganga uncomfortable, he only served to embarrass himself.

I won’t list the reasons why Ganga deserves to open a Test innings ahead of Morton. Thomas won’t pay attention anyway. I won’t mention that Carew has no say in the final XI, that would also fly over Thomas’s head. I won’t talk about Ganga dominating the local first-class scene year after year, demanding to be picked in the senior side. That too would be ignored by Thomas.

This is the problem with what passes for journalism in the Caribbean and Thomas is certainly not alone. There’s a Thomas in every country, a so-called journalist who puts on hometown blinkers and refuses to see rhyme or reason.

Thomas is a disgrace to the profession. A parochial, narrow-minded individual who decides to be disruptive because it serves his own insular interest.

In my conversations with cricket fans in the so-called “small islands,” I’ve heard legitimate gripes about unfairness in team selection. Some of them I agree with. The burden of proof on Devon Smith is way more than Ganga’s or Dwayne Smith’s. Players like Adam Sanford and Kerry Jeremy are frowned upon while Jermaine Lawson was allowed to pelt at the highest level. All very legitimate gripes.

But to make a disruptive case for Morton over Ganga in this Test is just hard to fathom.

Not that Val Thomas cares. He was on a mission and he succeeded. Only, he ended up embarrassing himself.

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