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Barbados Cricket Selectors Blunder

Submitted by Wayne R. Pilgrim-Cadogan
Wayne Pilgrim-Cadogan
Wayne Pilgrim-Cadogan

Am I the only one, or are they others who continue to be baffled as much as I am after all these years as to how the Barbados and West Indies cricket selectors select players for duty? Even though they continue to fail game after game so miserably! I have always thought that any player seeking selection in any sports team had to be performing admirably and be selected on merit. Evidently this not the case when it comes to the Barbados cricket selectors

Is there anyone with a sound mind who could tell or explain to me how Kirk Edwards, could be failing for so long and yet the selectors continue to find favour in selecting him for national duty before other in form batsmen? Looking at the young man’s scores for the last eight to ten innings or more, are like selecting Lotto numbers which cannot add up to 120 runs. Why are the selectors continuing to select him in front of other young talented batsmen? Is it because of his arrogance that he is not listening to others regarding his batting problems? Or is it the same old problem that has always dog Barbados regarding favoritism?

It is cases like these that are responsible for our young athletes shying away from their particular interest of sport and not coming forward. Many of our young athletes are exposed from an early age to the victimization because of their school or who their parents are. This has long been the case in many circumstances and it has not change. It is not surprising for one to see why Barbados sports has remained in the doldrums as the other so call small territories continue to forge ahead us. When will we as a nation wake up and stop settling for mediocrity?

When!

29 responses to “Barbados Cricket Selectors Blunder”

  1. Barbados Cricket Selectors Blunder

    […] By David […]

  2. David Avatar
    David

    If a batsman has performed over a reasonable period he deserves a run to get back to form.

  3. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Hope 211, Brooks 124

  4. sidboyce Avatar
    sidboyce

    Perhaps there is something fundamentally wrong from WICB all the way down.
    I see our players making the mistakesfor which I chide the youngsters I coach, even at age 11.

    Tony Cosier blames the pitches.

    Greg Chapple wrote that during the interview with WiCB for the coaching job he wanted oversight of all cricket from school boy level upwards but he could not make them understand. They indicated that they wanted him to take the “Test” team and turn them into world beaters.

    Otis Gibson had an impossible task which took me back to a session analysing the Warwickshire Academy players.
    I asked the head coach, the late Neil Aberley why some players seem to get into a rut they never seem to get out of and he replied that sometimes there are personal issues they take on to the field and sometimes they think they know better than the coach and besides, they are on their own out there and you just have to hope that what they have been coached is taken out there with them.

    They can look class players in the nets and total chumps in the middle.

    I have had to tell teams of my distgust seeing them perform in a manner that suggested their coach was useless.
    Sometimes it has been so bad that I have had to leave the ground.

    The one who perform are the ones who LEARN and translate learning into PERFORMANCE.

    I think when players cannot perform with some degree of consistency there has to be some psychological blockage, lack of concentration or fright – Sometimes if one or 2 key players fail, the rest roll over. At other times when the key players succeed, the rest roll over.

    Other who saw the WI vs South Africa and WI vs Scotland matches remarked that they had never seen a bowling attack that bad, bowlers running in and bringing their arms over but with not a clue as to what they were doing, just serving up dross.

  5. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

    @ David

    You are sooooooo wrong! Let out-of-form batsmen get back into form in the lower levels and on the practice pitches. Same for bowlers, fielders.

  6. David Avatar
    David

    @Pacha

    You need to give established players a little run for obvious reasons. In the case of Barbados the others have been scoring runs therefore there is the luxury of ‘carrying’ Edwards.

    On Saturday, 14 March 2015, Barbados Underground wrote:

    >

  7. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    EDWARDS SEEMS TO HAVE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEM

  8. MaryJ Avatar
    MaryJ

    Are ‘there’ Wayne, not are ‘they’.

  9. Money Brain Avatar
    Money Brain

    I have been asking for a long time whether the WI and Bdos Teams have full time PsychologistS on staff.

    It amazies me how young fellas dont seem to understand how much $$$$$ are on offer these days for consistent performance and how easy the competition for spots is for Bim and WI compared to 20 and especially 40-50 years ago.

    When I came up in the 1970s you had Waco Daniels, Joel “Bird” Garner, Syl Clarke, Titmus Armstrong just for starters in the Bdos pace department. Today our pacers always broken down, bowl nonsense half the time and are only given 5 overs in some innings to remove the shine like used to be true with Abid Ali when India visited in 1971. Totally incredible! Seems commitment is lacking. Why? (batting is worse)

    Bim batting this season started poorly for Edwards, Corbin and Hope. Yet game after game these 3 get picked when at least 2 should have been replaced after 4-6 innings of failure. Meanwhile R Hinds is sitting idle. If Ryan is such a bad influence on others and proceedings then fire him permanently, but as a player he is still key as he proved in his one game when Bim beat Guyana at Providence where he top scored and took wickets. Ryan was not played against Guyana in Bim and we lost the “Championship” match. I am told that we have to emphasise youth. That is nonsense the youth must perform consistently in order to knock Hinds out of the team.

    Additionally Bim has Kyle Hope, Stoute and Brooks sittting. Surely these gents deserved a chance when others are failing ad nauseum? Are they too old too? Kyle H has made plenty nuff runs in Prem for several seasons and yet has not been assisted to make it at Regional level. He obviously can focus if he has made 1100+ runs,and 800+ in seasons past.

    Big problems in Damagement and players attitude.

  10. David Avatar
    David

    Brooks has been tried fro several seasons now and has been an abysmal failure. Edwards was in the Test frame and deserved a run. With the CCC out of the picture Hope, Corbin et al are being tried.

    On Sunday, 15 March 2015, Barbados Underground wrote:

    >

  11. Money Brain Avatar
    Money Brain

    Corbin has played for CCC for 6 seasons and averages like 25???????????? He looks good for 30 minutes??????? OUT! CCC was playing the same teams as Bim and Corbin was not impressive.

    Shai Hope has been given the opportunity this season, is only 21, and has finally come good after an abundance of chances, so management has been vindicated, but Corbin and Kirk?????? 12 Innings?

    Our batsmen require tons of help and tough love.

  12. David Avatar
    David

    It has been widely accepted by cricket pundits, for whatever reason, our players take longer to develop in the Caribbean. Brooks is a good example he has been around for years and has not delivered. Now and again the system will toss up a couple players who buck the trend; Brathwaite is one such person. Our players are poor. The young wicketkeeper is a case in point. Mike Worrell has already pointed out deficiencies in his keeping/batting technique which will be exposed on the international stage. In fact he was drooped in the International 20/20 club championship recently. If we gave a player who was able to achieve a little success on the international stage, he deserves a chance to work out his problem given the volume of domestic cricket available to correct problems.

    On Sunday, 15 March 2015, Barbados Underground wrote:

    >

  13. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    What happened to the Kensington wicket. Is it really that flat?

    Barbados 480

    Windwards 192without loss.

  14. David Avatar
    David

    @Hants

    It is a combination of a flat pitch and ordinary bowling attack.

    On 15 March 2015 at 16:41, Barbados Underground wrote:

    >

  15. loyal bajan Avatar
    loyal bajan

    Is this the same Kirk Edwards that was so impressive just a few years ago? There is more to cricket than practicing in the nets, may he needs specialist coaching off the field. Maybe he has lose his desire and hunger for the game for whatever reason and he needs guidance. The young man has potential, he needs sitting down and picking his brain to see what has gone wrong. PLEASE DON’T WRITE HIM OFF. He’s not the first or last good cricketer with this problem

  16. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    RE Hants March 15, 2015 at 12:41 PM #
    What happened to the Kensington wicket. Is it really that flat?

    Barbados 480

    Windwards 192without loss.

    HANTS YOU FORGET THE BDOS VS GUYANA MATCH IN THE MID 60’S WHEN GUYANA MADE 600 PLUS AND BDOS RESPONDED WITH 500 PLUS? LASHLEY GOT A DOUBLE

    OR THE TEST MATCH OF 65 AUSTRALIA 650/5 WINDIES 550 SIMPSON LAWRY NURSE ALL GOT DOUBLES

    NO ONE SPOKE ABOUT FLAT WICKETS IN THOSE DAYS LOL

  17. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @ Georgie Porgie,

    THEY NEED TO PREPARE A WICKET THAT HAS A BIT OF TURN IN IT.

    AT LEAST WE MIGHT GET A RESULT IN THE 4 DAY FORMAT.

  18. Aquanaut Avatar
    Aquanaut

    Drug testing before each day’s play for all players. Those who fail a drug test are dropped for life.

  19. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    HANTS
    MAN, ON THE SAME OLD BATTING WICKET AT KENSINGTON, LANCE GIBBS GOT 8 VS BARBADOS….AND ANOTHER 8 VS INDIA IN 62 REMEMBER?

  20. David Avatar
    David

    @GP

    All the oldsters have admitted the character of the Oval pitch has changed now compared to then.

  21. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    What changed David?
    the pitch …or their eyesight and reflexes… 🙂

  22. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced that the ICC Annual Conference 2015 will take place in Bridgetown, Barbados from 22-26 June.

  23. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    hants
    i was told that in the old days they would put soap in the water on the pitch and that they used to spin the roller

    not sure what was the significance

    all we know is that folk who could bat—–batted and got runs; and folk who could bowl well got wickets

  24. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @ Georgie Porgie,

    THESE GUYS BATTED ,

    Devon. Smith 151, Theophile 125,

    Hope 211, Brooks 124

    GUESS THE BOWLING WAS TERRIBLE.

  25. pieceuhderockyeahright Avatar
    pieceuhderockyeahright

    An older man than this ole man told me something a few years back BEFORE he went the way the ole man soon to go.

    (Not soon enough is the refrain by Legion et al)

    Three Step dancing!!

    The reason the ole cricketers were able to bat so well, and move so fluently to the different bowlers, was because, having most of them, been exposed to dancing and moving dem girlfriend, dem woman, a nex man woman, dem wife so competently across the dance floor, they were able to move their feet irrespective of where the ball was pitched.

    “Cross pollination” does have it place in the sport just look how they are using the baseball glove to “augment” catching the ball in said cricket.

    Weight training allows Gale to knock man a ball out of the oval.

    I am not suggesting that the fellows need to go to the Lonely Hearts Club to learn a three steps thing or two, but what is obvious that their leaden feet batting actions are not helping them master the sport or avoid the prolific “Legs before…”

  26. David Avatar
    David

    @Hants

    The crickets poor.

    Note newly elected WICB president sees the ICC conference in Barbados as a vote of confidence in the region,

    JA

    On Monday, 16 March 2015, Barbados Underground wrote:

    >

  27. David Avatar
    David

    Where is the joy in seeing batsman swiping at balls ball after ball? A good ball is now registered as a dot ball. The whole world is going to hell in a down basket.

  28. hard hitter Avatar
    hard hitter

    would not be surprise if the pink ball and light is tossed around as a cause for the West Indies poor showing

  29. sidboyce Avatar
    sidboyce

    Last night I watched the “highlights”. So called Test batmen crease bound. All that was needed was a full straight ball to seal their sorry fate. A batsman playing a long way from his body and giving a regulation slip catch.

    I would not be happy with such a performance from under 9 players I coach. We set up a bowling machine at 70 MPH (no half vollies) and bowled to one Warwickshire District under 9 player and was pleased to see him getting fully on the front foot and coping very well.
    At the end when asked how he found it, he replied “I was frightened”.

    One friend and his son who attended the match reported that 20 minutes before the start of play, the WI bowlers were on the field bowling at a set of stumps – not one ball hit. Also when taking the field it looked like they never wanted to get to the middle, something seen on the previous visit.

    The standard of bowling we won’t find acceptable from our under 12 age group Warwickshire league players.

    They looked like a slovenly rag tag bunch of defeated men from ball one.

    The late great Richie Benaud in an interview some years ago stated that the standard of cricket played by a team was a reflection of the people they represent.

    The news reported it as a humiliating defeat for West Indies. I doubt it as their humiliation index doesn’t register on any scale.

    BTW – does anyone know the 14 year old Barbadian cricketer Brian Lara asked Warwickshire to sign up immediately? We expected to see him at our cricket Academy with the Warwickshire Emerging Under 17 squad but he was not there.

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