It would seem the irony of all ironies that the players the T&T Cricket Board rejected for last year's Champions League were the two players who provided the foundation for T&T's victory in the Caribbean T20 over the past two weeks. I hope I am not diminishing the performance of Denesh Ramdin's team, but Kieron Pollard, Man of the Series, and Dwayne Bravo, Man of the Match in the final, did not only inspire the Red Force by their presence, both rose to the occasion and delivered when it mattered most. Bravo, cool, level-headed and with a clear understanding of his role in the team and powerful Pollard, consistently putting the icing on the cake with his brute force and explosive hitting, gave T&T an advantage that was way too much for the other teams. If there were any doubt about the need to have these two men represent our country for international competition, this year's CT20 would have dispelled them.
It is easy now to understand why outspoken Minister of Sport Anil Roberts made the kind of fuss he did when the T&TCB failed to make enough effort to have the pair represent the country at last year's Champions League. The Minister's obsession with doing everything possible to have the pair in the colours of the Red Force at the tournament later this year, needs to be congratulated, particularly as it seems quite clear that he is willing to put his money where his mouth is. The country's gain from doing well in a tournament of that nature is something no amount of money can buy. Perhaps, we need the Minister to pay a visit to those dinosaurs who control the West Indies Cricket Board so that he could explain to them the importance of having our best players at all times. The rest of the cricketing world must be laughing at us, particularly as it relates to Chris Gayle. The Jamaica run machine is so frustrated that he has even joked about putting on an India uniform to try and help the Asians out of the dark hole in which they are stuck 'Down Under'. Everyone who follows cricket would be willing to pay to see Gayle. His value to fans in the West Indies and the world is tremendous. Only the WICB seems not to know this. In today's civilised world, there are so many ways to solve problems but perhaps it is in the Board's interest not to sort out Gayle's issue.
It may also be in the Board's interest for people like Bravo (Dwayne), to be unavailable to play for the West Indies. How else would Darren Sammy, who comes from the homeland of the board's president, continue to lead and maintain his place on the Caribbean team? Look around at the world and see if there is any country playing the game without its best players. Can you see Australia without Ponting or India without Tendulkar? How about South Africa without Graeme Smith or England without Andrew Strauss? Nope! Because whatever their problems, they want their best team at all times. Not us! Here at home, T&T could go to the Champions League without Pollard and Bravo. And the West Indies could head off to the T20 World Cup later this year without Gayle, the most sought after T20 cricketer. We fuh real?. Now that Minister Roberts has said his piece on the T&T players, maybe he should offer his services to the WICB. After all, despite all that was said about him by the T&TCB president, he has extended an olive branch and will meet with the man on Monday. Whatever the outcome of that meeting, for me that's true sportsmanship!
Valentino Singh
Sports Editor
valentino.singh@guardian.co.tt
