By Neto Baptiste
Despite having some issues with the selection of the senior West Indies men’s team set to tour Bangladesh starting January 10, iconic former fast bowler and one of four knighted former players here, Sir Curtly Ambrose, is urging players to grab the opportunity with both hands.
Speaking on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, Sir Curtly believes that a successful tour of Bangladesh for some players could make it more difficult for selectors ahead of future tours while sending a message to some of the more senior and established players.
“I think it’s a perfect opportunity for some of these youngsters who have been knocking on the door for some time now to show the selectors and the rest of the cricket people that we are ready for this kind of cricket and honestly, I am hoping that these guys do very well in Bangladesh. Whether we win the series, draw the series or even lose the series, I hope they all do extremely well so that when they get back home, lead selector Roger Harper and company will have some headache to decide who to select,” he said.
Twelve players including Test captain Jason Holder, declined to take part in the upcoming tour of Bangladesh due to health concerns. The tour is set for January 10 to February 11.
Joining Holder in making themselves unavailable for the tour are vice-captain Roston Chase, T20 captain Kieron Pollard, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, and Nicholas Pooran. Fabian Allen and Shane Dowrich will be unavailable because of personal reasons.
Sir Curtly said some players are given too many opportunities to fail.
“Too many of our guys right now, in the senior team, when you look at them it’s the same things that keep happening over and over again and it is difficult to fix it when on tour because on tour you are trying to find ways to win and you don’t have as much time to work with players like that so it must start from the youths,” he said.
The teams set to play three ODIs and two Tests as part of the Cricket World Cup Super League and World Test Championship, respectively.
West Indies are due to arrive in Bangladesh on January 10 and are set to play a warm-up match eight days later. The first ODI is set for January 20.