Guyana’s former Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsamy, spoke to the National Cricket Selection Committee about the approach to be followed in team selection. There, he said, talent should be paramount.
“Select players on performance, not favoritism.”
Albion Community Center Cricket Club Patron Dr. Ramsamy was unimpressed with the selection process and the selection of the Guyana Harpy Eagles squad for the upcoming four-day championship.
In a candid presentation at the club’s awards ceremony a day after the squad was announced, Dr Ramsamy said,
“I stand here to say that the best team representing Guyana is not going on to the regional cricket (tournament).”
The inclusion of middle-order batsman Akshaya Persaud and left-arm spinner Ashmead Nedd in the four-day championship, who were average performers in both the two practice matches, has caused concern in the public domain.
However, many felt that experienced Essequibo left-arm spinner Antony Adams should have been included in the 13-man squad. Commenting further, Dr. Ramsamy says,
“Cricket is too important to become a collateral victim of people not using the proper rationale and procedure to select our teams.”
“We have to select our best cricketers to represent our clubs, to represent our county, and to represent our country.”
“I believe that West Indies cricket today is at the bottom because we have not paid attention to our selectors selecting our teams.”
Pointing out that cricket is more important than anything else for the West Indies, Dr. Ramsamy emphasized that organizations should implement systems,“that remove favoritism, that remove unfairness.”
“Cricketers must be selected based on their performance, and I do not believe that we are presently selecting our teams based on performance alone. And that must stop!.”
“That’s the challenge we have, and we must start by raising our voices.”
Meanwhile, Guyana Harpy Eagles captain Leon Johnson told Barbados radio program Mason and Guest on Tuesday evening that he was not aware of the squad being named.
“I saw the team on Facebook!.”
The Harpy Eagles will leave for Antigua on January 29 and they will play Barbados Pride at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua from February 1-4, and the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the National Stadium in Grenada from February 8-11.
The championship then takes a break and resumes on March 15 in Trinidad and Tobago for the remaining three rounds.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles squad: Leon Johnson (Captain), Veerasammy Permaul (Vice-captain), Chandrapaul Hemraj, Matthew Nandu, Kemol Savory, Tevin Imlach, Anthony Bramble, Kevin Sinclair, Nial Smith, Ronsford Beaton, Akshaya Persaud, Ashmead Nedd and Shamar Joseph.
The Manager is Albert Clements, Head Coach Ryan Hercules, Assistant Coach Garvin Nedd, Cricket Analyst Keshava Ramphal and Physiotherapist Angelica Holder.