W.I Should Send the Youths to England

I would like to plant a bug in the ears of the West Indies selectors. I would like to suggest to them that they consider the importance of the upcoming engagements, and given that we are supposedly in a rebuilding phase, let them place the most weight on the "A" team tour to England. Let us stock that team with our most promising players. Promising players yes, but still players who are short on experience.

It is almost mid-March and the Busta Cup, the preeminent first class competition in the Caribbean is winding down, with the semi-final spots already decided. Soon the Indian cricket team will arrive in the Caribbean for a two month long engagement starting with their opening game against a Guyana representative side on April 5 and concluding on June 2 with the final ODI against the West Indies team.

In addition New Zealand will be in the Caribbean for at least a two test engagement, and there will also be a tour of England by a West Indian "A" team. When the selectors finally sit down to select players for these engagements, there will be a lot of material to sift through, players to scrutinize, before they come up with a squad of players who could best blend their talents together and truly be called a team.

Let us use the 'A' team tour as a teaching tool, complete with tutors in the form of Michael Holding or Andy Roberts for the bowlers, and Gordon Greenidge, arguably the best WI batsman in the English conditions.

Let the selectors be courageous and send Gayle, Sarwan, Ganga, both Hinds and Garrick, among others on the sojourn to England. The skills that they will learn there will be invaluable, in addition, they may even catch the eye of a county or a club team, and a professional contract may be offered. Now is the time for the selectors to take this step, let them think outside the box, we have been losing for some time now and there are no winning streaks to protect, no rivalries or bragging rights to pursue, therefore let them be innovative in their selections.

Assuming that we are going to be taking a 16 man squad to England, I will list the players here who should be considered:

* Christopher Gayle

* Ronnie Sarwan

* Marlon Samuels (if fit)

* Devon Smith

* Leon Garrick

* Ryan Hinds

* Wavell Hinds

* Runako Morton

* Keith Hibbert

* Lennox Cush

* Jermaine Lawson

* Tino Best

* Darren Powell

* Garreth Breese

* Adam Sanford

* Suliman Benn

These players should make up the nucleus of the WI team for the 2003 World Cup and other engagements into the future, as a result they have to be afforded the opportunity to learn, and an 'A' team tour in English conditions, would sort out the haves from the have nots.

The Test team could then be chosen from:

* Carl Hooper

* Shiv Chanderpaul

* Brian Lara

* Stuart Williams

* Sherwin Campbell

* Junior Murray

* Ridley Jacobs

* Neil McGarrell

* Mahendra Nagamootoo

* Merv Dillon

* Cameron Cuffy

* Pedro Collins

* Marlon Black

* Reon King

* Colin Stuart

* Ian Bradshaw

Before you the readers think that these are the musings of a madman, if you compare the two teams and exclude Brian Lara, the team for England could well defeat the first eleven in head to head competition.

I say send the youngsters to England, let them have Gordon Greenidge and Andy Roberts or Michel Holding available to them, and let them have a summer of learning. This strategy would reap immeasurable benefits for the West Indies in the near future. Over to you selectors.