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I can’t help but feel sympathetic toward West Indies (WI) captains Jason Holder and Kieron Pollard’s declining the invitation to tour Bangladesh with the WI teams in January/February.
The tough job the game of cricket demands from a captain as compared to being a player makes it twice as difficult mentally because of the concentration and responsibility required, plus the decisions one is constantly called upon to take.
When one considers the year of the pandemic, Cricket West Indies (CWI) played its part to keep its cricketers active, by accepting invitations to visit other countries to play Tests and limited-overs internationals. Therefore it is understandable if there is player burnout, especially the leaders.
The cricketer may have no problem attending to his game; however, when he has to submit himself to a lockdown, imprisoning himself in a hotel room for one or two weeks at a time, it becomes unbearable. It can be very hard to think rationally when you’re feeling so vulnerable and alone. It can get to you.
Quarantine may seem brief for one series, but WI cricketers suffered through this for most of 2020.
Quite apart from the tours of England and New Zealand, rigorous because of their length and competitiveness, they were holed up at a hotel in Port of Spain for six weeks to participate in the Caribbean Premier League. We must remind ourselves that this is without any socialising.
[caption id="attachment_865893" align="alignnone" width="1024"] In this file photo, members of the West Indies squad take part in a training session, at Queenstown, New Zealand on Monday, ahead of the second and final warm-up match against New Zealand ‘A’, on Nov 26, 2020. - CWI Media[/caption]
Furthermore, one is being crushed by opponents in their own territories enjoying all the pluses of home advantage.
CWI on the other hand, also needed to accept these invitations, in order to have reciprocal tours, the pathway to earn revenue; in the new international set-up, profits are only gained in home series.
Hence the cricketers have found themselves between a rock and a hard place. And the captains even more so.
Having said all that, certain factors have to be closely monitored to ensure there are no misunderstandings.
This has to do with the promise to players by CWI that the decisions of those who refuse to tour because of fear of contracting the coronavirus will not be held against them in future selections. There are some players who, to my thinking, are treading the tightrope for selection; thus I wonder, should the selectors leave them out of a future tour, whether they could object or make a case of their non-selection, by putting forward a defence that they’ve been discriminated against.
Take for example failures like vice-captain Roston Chase, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks and Sheldon Cottrell. Do they receive an automatic pick for the next tour, or do they have to perform in the West Indies championship to get a look-in? Because I thought they would have been left out of the Bangladesh tour anyway, regardless of whether they stood down or not.
Then we have Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran. Is it because of the virus, or the fact that they are fulfilling contracts in the Australian Big Bash competition? Although Holder is involved in that tournament, at least he played in all the WI series in 2020.
But Hetmyer and Pooran were not in England. Are they afraid of the virus in some places but not in others? One can be as vulnerable in Australia as anywhere else.
If a professional cricketer who declines selection on WI teams over health concerns brought on by the pandemic plays simultaneously in another country similarly affected, then an explanation is necessary.
On the subject of explanations, for what personal reasons did Shane Dowrich leave the tour of NZ, and why are he and Fabian Allen both unavailable to visit Bangladesh for personal reasons not related to the raging pandemic? The public needs to know why. Who is dictating to whom?
The selectors view more of the cricket played in the region than I do, so I guess they would be in a better position to weigh the pros and cons of the players they choose.
Nonetheless, do they really believe Rahkeem Cornwall is a fit and talented enough cricketer to play at the highest level? They certainly seem to, but I don’t share their view. If he succeeds as a bowler and/or batsman, how many runs does he give away in the field?
Why is Chemar Holder, the most promising young fast bowler in the WI, not in the Test squad?
By discarding the youngster from the Test side his development has been stifled. More’s the pity.
 
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