Executive member of the T&T Cricket Board and president of Merryboys Cricket Club, Patrick Rampersad says that Lendl Simmons' non-selection on the World Cup 30-man squad is deliberate and truly amazing. Simmons was again overlooked by the West Indies selectors as they named their 30-man squad to start preparation for the upcoming 50 overs World Cup in Asia. Six T&T players have been chosen on the squad and they are Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin and Ravi Rampaul.
Simmons was not chosen, and an irate Rampersad says that the West Indies selectors' action could finish the player's career. "This latest snub is truly amazing, unbelievable, and logic has no place in this situation. It seems that there is a deliberate effort on the part of a certain selector or selectors not to select Simmons and finish him off," he said. Rampersad said Simmons sought the help from the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and this may have worked against him. "We all know of the battle between the board and the players association and I am also of the view that Simmons is being made to pay for turning to the players association for assistance," he said.
Earlier this year the WICB had responded by saying that Simmons' performance since being dropped from the West Indies team did not warrant a return. The WICB stated that Simmons had scored 277 runs from 13 innings at an average of 25.18 since he was dropped from West Indies, suggesting that the selection committee believed the player's performances did not warrant a place on either the West Indies or West Indies A-Team ahead of other players selected. However, among the players in the 30-man squad are Jonathan Carter with a List A average of 26.43, Ryan Hinds with an average of 29.62, Kieran Powell who averages 22.60 in List A and Devon Smith who has a one day international average of 24.32.