West Indies fast bowling legend and outspoken pundit Michael Holding has pleaded for the inclusion of former opener Desmond Haynes in the regional team’s plans going forward.
Haynes, also a member of the legendary West Indies teams of the 70s, 80s and early 90s, has continually expressed interest in occupying the position of head coach and has often received the endorsement of several prominent former players.
The 63-year-old had been in the running for the position, which was recently up for grabs, but Cricket West Indies (CWI) choose to appoint his former opening partner Phil Simmons instead. Despite not getting the position, Holding is confident that Haynes and others who applied for the post still have plenty to offer to the region and should be included in some way or the other.
Darren Bravo was dropped from West Indies' squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan, but former fast bowler and current commentator Michael Holding believes the left-hand batsman is "too talented to be left out".
Holding's endorsement comes after chief selector Roger Harper also backed Bravo to return to the side.
"I would tell him to find something that works. If he has a technical problem - and I don't know if that is the case - I would tell him to find someone and get it sorted," Holding said on the Line & Length podcast this week. "If it's just a matter of going through a bad rut and you don't know exactly what the problem is, again find someone who is highly qualified and skilful enough to look at you and suggest something that may be going wrong and try and get it sorted."
Bravo still has a central contract, having been awarded an all-format deal in July.
Darren Bravo might have been left out of the West Indies squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan, but lead selector Roger Harper backed the batsman to strike form in domestic cricket and return to the side.
Bravo scored a mere 47 runs in four innings at an average of 15.66 in the Test series against India. His form hardly improved in the CPL, where he managed 128 runs in seven innings, striking at 103.22, and only one half-century.
"Firstly I don't want to term it as dropping a player like Darren Bravo," Harper said in a press conference at the Queen's Park Oval on Wednesday. "We all know the quality of a player like Darren Bravo, with the sort of Test and one-day record he has representing West Indies.
Former West Indies captain and batting great Brian Lara believes appointing Kieron Pollard as the ODI and T20I captain is "a step in the right direction," but he has urged Cricket West Indies to focus more on developing players for Test cricket.
"He's got some good experience," Lara said of Pollard, who last played an ODI over three years ago, at the launch of a T20 tournament for retired players in Mumbai. "I also believe that a captain is as good as his team and the people who really support him. And I believe that he will get the support, that's half of your job done.
"Practically, he has played cricket all around the world, he will understand what needs to be done. So it's not a bad decision. If he's committed to West Indies cricket for a long period of time, it's a step in the right sort of direction and let's see how it goes."
And…. breathe. It has been a roller coaster period for Cricket West Indies (CWI) President Ricky Skerritt, Cricket West Indies itself, the West Indies team and the fans; as we approach seven months since that Sunday on the 24th of March 2019 when Skerritt defeated then CWI President Dave Cameron by eight votes to four to rise to the summit of West Indies cricket. With that, Caribbean fans, even now, continue to witness what can be labelled as the domino effect we all suspected would follow a Skerritt victory. Below is a timeline of the major decisions in the Skerritt era of West Indies cricket.
Mere days after his appointment, the then president was quoted by Cricbuzz, on Saturday April 6, saying “There must be no reason for non-consideration other than cricket or medical or physical health.” A well-intentioned statement, which many suspected was an arm around the shoulders of those who had been ‘blacklisted’ by the outgoing administration.
