Becca
Tony Becca, Senior Sport Editor
SOME YEARS ago, there was a call by a number of Jamaicans that Jamaica should go it alone, and although it is now still only a whisper, Jamaicans are back at it again.
According to the disgruntled Jamaicans, as it was during the days when Maurice Foster was in and out of the West Indies team, Jamaica is getting a raw deal from the West Indies selectors and it is time to say, enough is enough.
The latest call follows the non selection of batsman Marlon Samuels and fast bowler Jermaine Lawson for all but the final, unimportant match against Sri Lanka in the World Cup.
NON SELECTION
Also, the non selection of Christopher Gayle for the first two Test matches against Australia, the non selection of Samuels for the last two and the non selection of Wavell Hinds, not so much for the last two but more so for the one-day internationals.
In venting their feelings, the fans have gone back to 1997 when Robert Samuels was dropped after scoring 76 and 35 not out in the last Test against Australia.
While there is no doubt that Marlon Samuels and Lawson should have been in the West Indies team long before the Kenya match based on their brilliant performances leading up to the World Cup and the poor performances of some of the players during the tournament, Jamaicans should stop and think, however, before accusing the selectors of bias against Jamaicans.
GAYLE'S OMISSION
Although it was not done properly, to those, including Jamaicans, who still believe that he turned his back on his country and on West Indies cricket by not appearing for Jamaica in a match as important as the final of the West Indies tournament, Gayle's omission was justified and, Jamaicans or not, whether they are better players or not, when the performances of Marlon Samuels and Hinds are compared, certainly with that of Daren Ganga, in the first two matches of the current series, it is difficult to fault the selectors for their omission.
On top of that, when one looks at the number of Jamaicans who have been selected to the West Indies in the past three years or so, that Marlon Samuels was selected at age 19 after representing Jamaica once two years before, that Carlton Baugh Jnr. was selected after representing Jamaica once and while representing the West Indies B team and not Jamaica, that Lawson and David Bernard Jnr. were called up after only a few matches for Jamaica, that six Jamaicans have played against Australia in the current series, and that five Jamaicans are in the one-day squad, it is difficult to accuse the selectors of bias against Jamaicans. In fact, it is unreasonable to do so.
So many Jamaicans have represented the West Indies recently that without even looking at old soldiers like Franklyn Rose, Nehemiah Perry and Robert Samuels, next time Jamaica take the field there will be 10 Test players on show - including some really young ones.
SELECTION
Some may argue that Jamaica is so strong and Jamaicans so good that they all deserve to be selected. Apart from the fact that strength is relative, however, not all of them were so good or are so good that they were or are automatic selections.
In other words, if the selectors were against Jamaicans, if they did not appreciate that Jamaica was turning some good youngsters and were looking to Jamaica for West Indies players, some of those selected would not have been selected.
As talented as they may be, the selectors did not have to select Marlon Samuels or Lawson when they did, and they certainly did not have to select Bernard and Baugh.
Are the West Indies selectors biased against Jamaica? Based on the evidence, the answer must be no.
While there are members of the West Indies Board who, like a number of Jamaicans at all levels, are so insular that they want their players in the team regardless, the selectors, based on my experience, are different.
The selectors want the team to win, and although they have made mistakes, they have always attempted to put together the best team.
Unless Jamaicans are so insular that all they want to see is a West Indies team of Jamaicans, instead of accusing the selectors, Jamaicans, those who are suggesting that Jamaica go it alone, should ask themselves this question: why is it that of the many selected, so many are in and then out?
NON PERFORMANCE
With the exception of Marlon Samuels and Lawson at the World Cup, and Gayle at the start of this series, the reason is simply that they have not performed certainly not consistently, and the main reason for that is their attitude generally and their approach to the game.
A number of those who represent Jamaica believe they are God's gift to the game, that they are a law onto themselves, and those among the disgruntled who do not believe it, simply have to ask some of their own Jamaica players and the management, not only of the West Indies team, but also the management of the Jamaica team.
