Ultimately my two picks for the Sticky
Wicket West Indies Cricket Hall of Fame were quite easy. The
first batch of players inducted, though all deserving in varying
respects, seemed to be selected with one eye fixed on records
(individual and as team captain) and the other gazing constantly at
players? statistics.
Cricket is undeniably a game of numbers, but little, if any,
consideration seemed to be given to the context of our cricketing
history. No other explanation could be plausible for my two
selections being initially excluded?
Xavier Marshall makes a promise to MICHELLE McDONALD
Xavier Marshall's debut in the VB one-day series in Australia
was largely unsuccessful so the opening batsman returned to the
Caribbean with big plans to join the Jamaica national team and add
some runs to his name.
After three away matches, however, all he did was add to a
lingering reputation for indiscipline. This resulted in him being
suspended for the Round Nine match against Barbados, and being put
on probation for the rest of the Carib Beer series. He never played
another match for the season.
Teenage Jamaican opener Xavier Marshall has been recalled to the
West Indies team for the first two ODIs against South Africa in
Jamaica on May 7 and 8.
The talented right-hander, who appeared in one match for the
West Indies in the VB Series last year, was recently dropped from
the Jamaica side and put on a discipline-related probation. Also
returning to the team are Dwayne Smith Corey Collymore and Ian
Bradshaw, three players who did not play in the current Test
series.
Even after a long day of cricket, his 'Ab Wheel' could be seen
lying outside of the gears bag ? clear evidence that it had
recently been in use, which he confirmed. Junior Murray admits that
he is as addicted to fitness as he is to cricket. His continued
commitment to cricket has resulted in good performances in the
regional tournaments with both bat and gloves. This earned him a
recall for the 2002 home series.
To all those watching the first two Tests, it appeared as if
stage fright may have got the better of him. The result was that he
was discarded, this time it seemed for good. Or was it?
Since June last year, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has
withheld -- but never deposited -- the percentage of West Indies
cricketers' match fees that is supposed to go towards the Provident
Fund.
According to a report in the Trinidad Express, it was
only after enquiries by the West Indies Players Association (WIPA)
that the WICB issued "payment instructions" its bank for the
transfer of Provident Fund contributions for the players.
