The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket
Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Corey Collymore are heading in the right direction on the Test ICC Player Rankings.
Chanderpaul, who made an unbeaten 97 in the first innings of the St Kitts Test, is up five spots to 17th and that means the home side now has two players inside that top 20 with captain Brian Lara unchanged in ninth position.
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.
When Brian Lara spoke at the post-match media conference after the first day of the Test against India in St Kitts, he was forced to defend the choice of Daren Ganga over Runako Morton.
The issue had been effectively countered by the captain when he cited the average of 42+ between Chris Gayle and Ganga as openers in relation to the average of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes of 47+. It was a powerful response.
The West Indies Cricket Board today announced a 16-man squad for the 'A' team tour of England in July and August this year.
The squad will be captained by Sylvester Joseph and he will have Ryan Hinds as his deputy. In addition to Joseph and Hinds the squad includes nine other players with international experience.
Brian Lara's widely reported criticism of the West Indies selection panel has apparently landed the team captain in hot water.
"I've been sort of censored, told to curb my comments," Lara said on the eve of the third Test match against India in St Kitts. "It's a situation when me and the selectors aren't singing from the same hymn sheet and that's unfortunate," Lara said.