Cricket authorities snub local talent

While most of the region’s talented young cricketers have their eyes set on the West Indies under 19 tour to England later this year, two of the island’s emerging talents have been left to contemplate their future in the sport that they love and have dedicated many hours.

Earlier this month, Cricket West Indies released the names of 56 of the Caribbean’s best at the under 19 level to participate in what has been dubbed as Rising Stars Camp currently taking place in Antigua.

While a total of eight players from the other three Windward Islands were invited to join the camp, unfortunately, not one Dominican player found favor owing to the gross incompetence and lack of interest in Dominica’s cricket by the Glen Joseph led Dominica Cricket Association.  

Many cricketing pundits are of the view that Yawani Regis of the Pierre Charles Secondary School and St. Mary’s Academy’s Stephan Pascal ought to have been in Antigua displaying their talent before the Floyd Reifer led selection panel. 

Former Windward Islands under 19 player Delvin Esprit, sports enthusiast, Damien Dublin, reputable sports commentator and administrator, Joseph Thomas as well as journalist and former cricket umpire Carlisle Jno Baptiste have all taken to their airwaves to voice their displeasure and the lack of action by the DCA to emulate the stance taken by the Guyana Cricket Board.

Initially, only four Guyanese players were selected to participate in the camp. Within days of the announcement, Cricket West Indies( CWI) included another four Guyanese players to the original unit, no doubt, at the behest of the Hilbert Foster-led administration in the South American country.

With the current COVD-19 pandemic creating havoc and making traveling difficult, CWI was forced to cancel its under 19 tournaments for the second time in as many years. Therefore, it meant that some method would have been employed to select the training unit. The selection process, NIN has been reliably informed, had to be done by the local board, DCA in the case of Dominica. The DCA was mandated to organize a series of trial matches involving under 19 players from a wide cross-section of the island to participate in a series of trial matches which would be live-streamed and viewed by the youth selectors. In addition to the matches, CWI would also be interested in footage of the players during their training regiments in their respective territories.

The method to select the training unit was confirmed by CWI’s High-Performance Manager, Graeme West, who expressed his gratitude to the various Territorial Boards for helping to facilitate the unusual selection process and more customized preparation approach, which became necessary due to the evolving and unpredictable COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. 

This publication can confirm that no trial matches were held as mandated by the CWI. Therefore, the focus now shifts to local cricket’s administration, which has been found wanting, again. The failure by the DCA to schedule matches and to comply with the directives of CWI only points to the conclusion that the DCA is not interested in the future of its emerging players and the future of the sport on the island.

Many in the cricketing fraternity are questioning the silence of the DCA which is as loud as thunder. They have opined that DCA should have taken a stance similar to that of Guyana. However, the scenario is different since the Dominican players were short-changed by the DCA executive and not CWI as in the case of Guyana. Guyana complied and held their trial matches as well as submitting names to CWI for consideration.

With this growing saga which has the potential to derail the future of local cricketers, one question which needs to be answered is why the DCA did not stage the trial matches. Surely, the current pandemic can’t be blamed since the matches should have been arranged prior to the second set of lockdown measures which came into effect on 3^rd August 2021.

With a number of players, 26 to be exact, currently attending the Dominica Cricket Academy in Portsmouth, surely, it could not have been difficult to assemble players for the trial matches. So, the inadequacy of players can’t be advanced as a logical reason for their non-compliance.

A source close to the DCA and with intimate knowledge of the situation bluntly said that the DCA had dropped the ball and had done the players a grave injustice. The source further contended that the information from CWI was received by Sam Kirnon, who is the head coach of the Academy, and the same was relayed to the relevant authority but they showed a lack of interest.

When asked to comment on the current situation, 2^nd Vice President of the Dominica Cricket Association Liam Sebastien, who is also responsible for cricket operations, responded by saying, “Speak to the president on that. I’ve just joined the DCA”. However, our usually reliable source confirmed that Sebastien and other executive members were very much aware of the request by CWI as it is a known fact that the current executive was elected in March 2021, which is before the request was made. Therefore, his stance on the matter can be considered ambiguous and disingenuous, to say the least.

President Glen Joseph and 1^st Vice President Clement Marcellin were also invited to share some light on the saga for the benefit of the public. However, they declined to comment which raises further questions and speculations.

The players most undone by this depressing situation are Yawani Regis and Stephan Pascal.  The former, who is 17, has represented the island at the under 13, 15, and under 19 levels. He was a member of the Windward Islands under 17 team in 2019 and toured England with the West Indies under 16 team in 2018.  He has been very prolific in school cricket, finishing as the leading runs scorer in the Sports Division organized competitions over the last four years including 8 centuries. In this year’s competition, he finished with 339 runs and took 28 wickets with two centuries to be adjudged as the best all-rounder of the tournament.

Stephan Pascal boasts of an impressive record and has represented the island at under, 13, 15, and 19 levels, too. To date, he has accumulated 31 half-centuries and five centuries in his short career. He scored 244 runs in 2021 under 20 school cricket competition. Prior to the stoppage of the DCA T20 league, he had amassed a total of 278 runs in 6 six matches with a highest score of 95 not out. What else were these two particular players expected to do to drive the local authorities to seek their best interest?

It is, obviously, quite apparent that the DCA has failed these players and the cricketing public must demand a reasonable explanation for this fiasco.

It is therefore incumbent on those charged with administering the game on the island to clear the air, albeit late. Failure to forward any plausible explanation will lead to the conclusion that the DCA has snubbed its own players and by extension the hopes and aspirations of many other potential stars. Failure to do so should see the total resignation of the entire executive. Anything short will be a travesty of justice and the general public will no doubt be left to question the sincerity, ability, honesty, and motive of the current DCA executive.

The non-selection of these players could have devastating consequences and drive them away from cricket since they feel cheated and have every reason to feel this way. One may very well conclude that the cricketing future of these players has been dealt a severe blow.

At this stage, it is not farfetched to seek counseling for these players so as to keep them motivated and interested in the game. It will take a lot of family and community support to see these players through these difficult and trying times, so early in their careers. They will definitely need all the support that they can get. NIN wishes them well!