Philo Wallace fails to see CWIs vision with latest ODI squad
Former West Indies opening batter Philo Wallace has questioned Cricket West Indies' (CWI) selection policy following the revelation of the 15-member squad currently facing off against India in a three-match One-Day International (ODI) series.
Speaking on the Mason & Guest show on Tuesday, Wallace said:
"The selectors will say this is the best available fifteen (players) for this ODI series. I just want to know, with the selection of this squad, where is this squad going to take us? What is the selectors' vision [for] this squad? My take is that we're still allowing players to dictate when they're available or when they're not available."
Wallace first took aim at Guyanese batter Shimron Hetmyer who, before his appearance in the first ODI against India on Thursday, had not represented the West Indies in a year.
"Shimron Hetmyer [and] how he's left our cricket... and he's just decided--well he's been selected so he's waltzed back in. There's no clear explanation [of] how he has gained selection."
Oshane Thomas, who had not represented the Caribbean side in 17 months, was next in Wallace's firing line. "There's no clear explanation also for Oshane Thomas and how he has gained selection."
"We're not playing against Malvern. We're playing against India. This is a serious international cricket side. And we need to let our players understand that if they're going to represent us, they've got to show a bit more commitment."
"Everybody is saying we're scraping the barrel--we're not scraping the barrel. I think [if] the selectors really sit down and have a full discussion about the players that are available in West Indies cricket and picked the right people to represent West Indies, who have that instinct to play and want to play, I think we can get a lot more from our teams."
"There's no Jason Holder, there's no Nicholas Pooran." Both Holder and Pooran were said to be "unavailable" for the series by CWI. "They are two big holes because Pooran got some runs up in the World Cup qualifiers. Jason, he's not performing at his best but he's still good enough to be in and around our setup. He's not there. So there's a big void [that] now has to be filled."
There was, however, no explanation for the absence of Akeal Hosein, who has taken the most wickets in ODIs by any full-member bowler since his debut.
"There's no Akeal Hosein as well, which is also a surprise to me because I thought that he could have been in this ODI squad."
Wallace was also perplexed at the inclusion of vice-captain, Rovman Powell after his scores of 0, 29 & 1 in West Indies’ World Cup qualifiers campaign.
"I'm surprised that the vice-captain has been selected. I'm serious.
"[From] what I saw from Rovman Powell in Zimbabwe, he should not be in a one-day squad. He would have to come back better. This is a serious position. [If] you look at Rovman Powell in Zimbabwe, you would never think that he would get back into a West Indies team. [But] he's there as vice-captain so that means, the management team is happy with him."