The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket
Finally, after a controversy-filled week full of doctors, lawyers and media-driven acrimony, Marlon Samuels has been cleared to travel to South Africa for the World Cup.
The ICC technical committee gave its approval Friday for the classy Jamaican batsman to rejoin the West Indies 15-man squad. Samuels will leave Jamaica on Friday evening and is due to arrive in South Africa on Sunday morning.
I was in Jamaica two weeks ago when the "Samuels? affair" became topical. Several features of this "affair", as it evolved, have given rise to concern. One aspect of the matter that must be disturbing to West Indian cricket fans is that the planning and care that should go into the nurturing of a young cricketer seems to have been absent.
There was continuing uncertainty last night as to whether middle-order batsman, Marlon Samuels, would be available for Jamaica's Carib Beer clash against the Windward Islands, which starts Friday at Sabina Park.
But a sure thing was that opener, Leon Garrick, will miss the game after allegedly breaking team rules in Jamaica's drawn first round game against the Leeward Islands in Anguilla which ended Monday.
Jamaican physician Dr. Akshai Mansingh, a member of the West Indies Cricket Board's (WICB) medical panel found himself in the eye of the storm surrounding the cutting of Marlon Samuels from the World Cup squad.
It was Dr. Mansingh's recommendations in a medical report, the WICB explained, that forced the selectors to make the decision to drop the batsman and replace him with Ryan Hinds for the World Cup. In this interview with CaribbeanCricket.com editor-in-chief Ryan Naraine, Dr. Mansingh talks about his involvement in the Marlon Samuels episode... (Update: Adds Dr Mansingh's press release at the end of the interview).
Contrary to reports circulating around the Caribbean, there has been no decision yet by the ICC on the West Indies Cricket Board's (WICB) request to have Marlon Samuels rejoin the World Cup team.
In fact, the International Cricket Council has scheduled a hearing for Friday to deliberate on the WICB request to allow the reinstatement Samuels.