BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Chief selector Roger Harper said the shock decision to recall Jason Mohammed after nearly three years on the sidelines to lead the West Indies one-day side on the upcoming tour of Bangladesh was premised entirely on his experience at regional and international level.
The 34-year-old Mohammed last represented West Indies 2-½ years ago but got the nod over all-rounder Rovman Powell, who led the Caribbean side to Bangladesh in 2018 when then skipper Jason Holder was out injured.
Harper said Mohammed, who has featured in 28 ODI, 83 first-class matches and 96 List A games and also captained Trinidad and Tobago was the ideal person to oversee the young team, especially in the absence of many of the senior players.
“We thought with a team of this nature where there are a number of young players and a lot of regulars — so to speak — absent, we needed someone with a little more experience, someone who would be able to guide and nurture young players on a tour like this and we thought Jason Mohammed was the best fit,” Harper told reporters.
Legendary West Indies fast bowler Andy Roberts has questioned some of the reasoning behind players opting not to go on the team’s upcoming tour of Bangladesh.
12 players, including captains Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard, and Roston Chase all opted to make themselves unavailable for the series, citing health and safety concerns. Joining the trio on the sidelines are Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen and Shane Dowrich.
With so many players deciding not to accept the invitation on this occasion, however, Roberts has questioned the difference between England and New Zealand vs Bangladesh.
“How do all of these guys who couldn’t make a team two or three years ago now become so big that they are refusing to tour and blaming it on the bubble,” Roberts said.
West Indies fast bowling legend Curtly Ambrose has rubbished suggestions conditions in Bangladesh are a good reason for up and coming fast bowler Chemar Holder to be left out of the Test team for next month’s tour.
The 22-year-old made his debut under difficult conditions in New Zealand, earlier this month, performing creditably despite a heavy loss for the West Indies. Holder ended with figures of 2 for 110, with one maiden, but often providing some testing deliveries despite not claiming more wickets.
Some believe Holder would have proved a suitable replacement for his namesake, but Cricket West Indies chief of selectors Roger Harper pointed out that the player had been excluded for a spinner, considering the spin-friendly nature of pitches in Asia.
Ambrose, however, does not agree and pointed out that it is crucial the young fast bowler, having shown promise, be given the opportunity to excel in all kinds of conditions.
“That to me is utter nonsense. I can’t support that. If you want to be a top-class international cricketer, you have to be able to bowl on all surfaces, in all conditions anywhere you go,” Ambrose said.
West Indies opener Kieran Powell remains unavailable for selection after failing to make the team's fitness standard, according to CWI chief selector Roger Harper.
The 30-year-old Powell was surprisingly left out of a team that was hastily arranged after several members of the first team declined to tour Bangladesh. Many believe Powell capable of being a regular part of the first team.
The Leeward Island’s batsman was the highest runs scorer in the previous season of the Cricket West Indies Super50 tournament. Powell scored 524 runs with a high score of 121 not out. He also had two 50s and two 100s.
“Mr. Powell has performed very well, he was the leading runs scorer for the Super50 competition, but he is yet to meet the fitness standard,” Harper told the Mason and Guest radio program.
Jamaican middle-order batsman Andre McCarthy is one of many new faces that will be touring with the West Indies for their three One-Day Internationals (ODI) and two Tests matches in Bangladesh next month.
McCarthy has been named in the ODI squad, which will kick off the tour in Dhaka on January 20.
The Melbourne Cricket Club player has made only one T20 appearance for the West Indies – against Pakistan in 2018. However, the right-hander is keen to grab his chance with the limited-over side come next month.
“I have been putting in the work for years and it has taken a while but I am still happy about it. It’s a journey and I am glad that I have been given the opportunity, so it’s for me to go out there and play my part,” McCarthy told The Gleaner.
