Jimmy Adams

“I’m pretty disappointed as well,” Haynes said speaking in a press conference on Monday.

“When you look at the amount of cricket that is being played around the world, I think there is a certain level of fitness that is required and I think there is a standard that you should set as a professional cricketer,” added Haynes before going on to mention how picking players while being unsure of whether or not they can finish tours is a concern.

“I do get concerned when you have to be selecting the side and not sure if these guys are going to be fit enough to finish the tour,” he said.

"For contracted players who are unavailable for fitness, there are consequences that are outlined in the contracts," Adams said.

One player who missed out on selection for the tour of the Netherlands in June because of failure to meet minimum fitness requirements is Trinidadian left-handed opener, Evin Lewis.

"We have players who, in our eyes are good enough to be considered for selection who are unavailable because of not even coming in on minimum fitness standards. That is very disappointing. For players who are contracted, that is doubly disappointing,” the former West Indies middle-order batsman added.

On a more positive note, Haynes commented on the inclusion of new faces in the team like St. Maarten’s Keacy Carty.

“As the new group of selectors, we have made it very clear that we will give opportunities to people and try to broaden the pool and start thinking with 2023 in mind,” he said.

The draft was conducted via a Zoom meeting and was monitored by CWI’s auditors KPMG to ensure that the process was carried out efficiently and smoothly.

Representatives of each franchise made two picks to bring their contracted squad of players to 15.

Nedd, a  left-arm spinner from Guyana, was one of the leading performers for the West Indies at the ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa earlier this year.  He will help bolster the Hurricanes’ bowling stocks and will bring the experience from the West Indies Emerging Players - winners of the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup last November.

Joining Nedd as a contracted player is his West Indies Under-19 captain Kimani Melius, who was picked up by the Windward Islands Volcanoes and fast bowler Jayden Seales who was contracted by the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force.

Both Melius and Seales were acquired ahead of the draft as pre-selected players by the respective franchises.

Additionally, two experienced players have found new franchises.

Kyle Hope, who played five Test matches and seven One-Day Internationals in 2017, has moved from Trinidad & Tobago Red Force to Barbados Pride.

Kevin Stoute, a former captain of Barbados Pride who has played 76 first-class matches since his debut back in 2007, will have a new home with the Windward Islands Volcanoes.

CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams was happy that CWI was able to get the draft done despite the ongoing pandemic.

"I am pleased to have gotten the regional franchise draft completed,” he said.

“Franchises can now focus on implementing post-lockdown training to gradually build towards their full programs. Obviously, we are all hopeful that we will soon be given the all-clear by the respective Governments to resume full franchise operations," he said.

Below is a listing of the movements in Monday’s draft:

Round 1

Leewards Hurricanes - Ashmead Nedd

Windward Volcanoes - Kevin Stoute

Jamaica Scorpions - Odean Smith

Guyana Jaguars - Ramaal Lewis

TT Red Force - Bryan Charles

Barbados Pride - Kyle Hope

Round 2

Leewards Hurricanes - Tyrone Williams Jr.

Windwards Volcanoes - Larry Edwards

Guyana Jaguars - Tevin Imlach

Jamaica Scorpions - Alwyn Williams

TT Red Force - Isaiah Rajah

Barbados Pride - Shamar Springer

Lara’s new role will be to support the various head coaches in providing players with tactical advice and improving their game sense, as well as working closely with the director of cricket on ICC World Cup Tournament strategic planning.

“I am really looking forward to Brian making a significant contribution to our cricket system by providing invaluable guidance and advice to our players and coaches,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.  “We are confident that Brian will help to improve our high-performance mindset and strategic culture that will bring us more success on the field across all formats.  Everyone is excited to have Brian involved in supporting our players.”

Meanwhile, Lara believes he can make a difference in his new role as performance mentor.

“Having spent time with the players and coaches in Australia and in discussions with CWI, I really believe that I can help the players with their mental approach to the game and with their tactics to be more successful,” he said.

“I'm looking forward to joining the group in Zimbabwe and the opportunity to work with other West Indies teams later in the year."

Lara’s first assignment will be with the West Indies Test squad.  He has joined the Test squad in Zimbabwe where he will assist in the team’s preparations ahead of the first Test Match in Bulawayo on 4 February 2023.

West Indies’ 84 points see them move ahead of South Africa (80) and Sri Lanka (74) in the Test rankings. India leads the rankings with 121 while New Zealand is second on 120. England (109), Australia (108) and Pakistan (94) are third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Brathwaite was encouraged by the news.

“I’m very proud of the team to jump two places in the Test rankings. I think this is just the beginning of good things to come,” he said.

“As a group, it shows that we can climb up the ladder and it’s just important for us to work hard and keep the belief and attitude to doing things right – in the preparation and the execution on the field. Once we continue to do the small things right and have the right attitude … because Test cricket is never easy… the sky is the limit.”

The West Indies growth and progress is the result of the memorable 2-0 win away to Bangladesh and the hard-fought 0-0 draw in the Sandals Test Series at home against Sri Lanka. It signals an overall rise for the team – last month it was announced they moved up one spot in the ICC One-Day International (ODI) rankings – following the 3-0 clean sweep over Sri Lanka in the CG Insurance ODI Series.

Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket praised the players and the support staff on the accomplishment.

“I am pleased to see the improvement from eighth to sixth in our Test ranking. This comes on the back of good cricket played earlier in the year against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,” Adams said.

“Firstly, we should recognize the efforts of the players and support staff on the ground who have delivered results under pressure and secondly to the large number of people working tirelessly in the background to support them in the face of multiple challenges. We continue to work hard towards our strategic goal of top 3 rankings across all formats.”

There was more good news as the ICC MRF Tyres player rankings also revealed that former captain Jason Holder remains the number-one Test all-rounder and is also the West Indies’ highest-ranked Test bowler at Number 8. Kemar Roach is the next highest at Number 12.

The West Indies will soon have an opportunity to pick up more valuable ranking points when they host South Africa in June before taking on fifth-ranked Pakistan in a Test Series due to played in August 2021 as part of the next cycle of the ICC World Test Championship.

Smith played a crucial role in the development of several players on the island, including Stafanie Taylor, the West Indies women’s captain.

He is credited with the success of the Jamaica team in the CWI Women’s tournaments where they won several titles in the last decade. He also coached the St Ann’s parish team several clubs and in schools. Smith was a regular co-ordinator of the Kiddy Cricket programme, which was part of the CWI age-group and junior development pathway.

CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams paid tribute to Smith.

“It is with a deep sense of loss that all of us at CWI heard of the passing of Cleon Smith. He has been an integral part of the Jamaica cricketing landscape serving as head coach of the country’s women’s national programme for over ten years,” Adams said.

“Cleon dedicated his life to coaching the game at community, school and regional levels and the game will be left that much poorer by his passing. All of us at CWI wish to convey our deepest condolences to Cleon’s family as we share their grief during this period of mourning

The Joshua Da Silva-captained team will engage their South African counterparts in three Tests between November 21 and December 8.

“It will give us an opportunity to boost our red-ball opportunities outside of the Caribbean. Earlier this year, we went to Bangladesh, and we did well there, and now we are going to another part of the world – South Africa. It will give us an opportunity to explore the brand of cricket that we want to play,” Coley said in an interview with CWI Media.

“Our next international assignment is in Australia, and six months after that we go to England, so this A team is positioned to offer red-ball playing opportunities on the back of the just-concluded Super50 Cup,” he added.

Coley, who is also Head coach of the senior West Indies Test side, is no stranger to South African conditions, having guided a Kraigg Brathwaite-led squad on last year’s tour.

“The South Africans are a team that want to play a specific way, and they always look to challenge you, but they respect our players. The pitches have offered pace, have offered bounce, so you will have pitches on which you can trust the bounce,” Coley reasoned.

“Players can, therefore, express themselves, whether they are batting or bowling, but it has never really been a place where the spinners have excelled. So, it’s also an opportunity for our spinners to learn to be effective in those conditions, and I am looking forward to being there,” he noted.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Da Silva will have Tevin Imlach as his deputy in a squad that also boast the experience of left-handers Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Kirk McKenzie, as well as fast bowlers Jayden Seales and Shermon Lewis.

Kevlon Anderson, fast bowler Shamar Joseph, and Jamaican spin bowling all-rounder Abhijai Mansingh, are also in the squad.

Coley, a former Jamaica wicketkeeper-batsman, pointed out that while the main objective is to come away from the tour victorious, there are other goals that are equally important for the development of the West Indies squad.

Coley will be assisted by former West Indies captain Jimmy Adams and former Australia fast bowler Shaun Tait.

 “You learn to win over time. We want to see our primary batsman scoring loads of runs, as well as the all-rounders and bowlers averaging above 20 or 30 and building lower order partnerships, that will help to expand our batting options,” Coley said.

“Once we are able to tick the boxes that we have agreed upon, 75 per cent or more of what we have aimed for, that will help to define success,” he ended.

According to CWI, developing Women’s cricket through the region is a vital part of its strategic plan, and the role remains pivotal as the West Indies Women’s team performances are an inspiration to the next generation of female cricketers across the Caribbean.

Potential candidates will require an accredited Level-3 Coaching qualification to apply and will be responsible for leading the process to develop and implement standards and protocols consistent with CWI’s overall strategy and objectives for cricket.

Additionally, CWI requires that all candidates must be of West Indian heritage.

“Following the recently concluded Women’s T20 World Cup, we have now begun the recruitment process for finding a permanent Women’s team Head Coach,” said CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.

“The successful candidate will be expected to drive our women’s program forward and improve our results across both formats. We are grateful for the efforts of interim Head Coach Gus Logie, who has led the squad during this transition period and will continue in his interim role until the process has concluded.”

The successful candidate will primarily be responsible for producing West Indies Women’s Teams which perform consistently with winning performance in ODIs and T20Is through the design and delivery of well-structured and progressive coaching programs.

The new coach will also be entrusted with effectively deploying resources and implementing tactical initiatives to ensure the achievement of superior match results and top placement in all ICC competitions as well as managing the on and off-field development of current and new players through elite player development, health and welfare programmes.

The new coach will also lead an elite and dynamic team management unit to get the maximum output from the players.

Since the return of the West Indies Championship in 2021, the format has been changed drastically.

Now, teams play each other only once, significantly reducing the amount of first-class cricket players around the region are getting to play.

CWI director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, is aware of the concerns raised about the amount of first-class cricket being played in the West indies in comparison to the rest of the world

“The format and structure of the First-Class regional tournament is something that is going to be reviewed coming out of this year,” said the former West Indies batsman.

“We do want to play more First-Class cricket but we also made a commitment to try to play as much higher standard first-class cricket as possible, which is the reason behind the Headley Weekes concept,” he added.

As stated by Adams, the Headley Weekes Tri-Series was introduced this year, with the West Indies Academy coming out victorious.

“We will be reviewing that addition to the season to see if there’s merit in continuing with it. We’re also considering whether we can add more teams to our regional tournament based on the performance of the Academy team in that tournament,” Adams said.

Another solution Adams offered up was the increase in the number of “A” team tours in the future. The West Indies “A” team are currently touring Bangladesh.

“We are conscious of building up more First-Class cricket. A large part of that is also going to revolve around “A” team tours and we have a commitment from CWI to adding regular “A” team series, home and away, for the next cycle which is about three to four years,” Adams said.

“It’s not something that you can put on paper and get a sign-off immediately, it’s ongoing negotiations with board to find windows where we can see teams or send teams away. Again, we are conscious of building up First-Class cricket but the priority is to make sure the standard of it is as high as possible,” he added.

This also reflects an increase of three players over the 15 women who were offered contracts for the 2020-21 season, a decision that CWI said reflects the continuation of their investment into Women’s and Girls cricket as they aim to strengthen and widen the talent pool as well as encourage greater participation into the women’s game.

CWI’s Lead Selector for Women’s and Girls cricket, Ann Browne-John revealed that all the players who were on contract last year have been retained for the new contract period.

The evaluation period for the 2021-22 contracts covered performances and statistics from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021 (this was also supported by statistics from the previous 2019-2020 evaluation period). This allows for all players to be appraised immediately after the evaluation period and provides a notice period before new contracts on July 1, 2021.

West Indies Women’s contracted players 2021-2022 Season:

Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Sheneta Grimmond, Shawnisha Hector, Chinelle Henry, Qiana Joseph*, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation, Kaysia Schultz*, Shakera Selman, Stafanie Taylor.

CWI’s Lead Selector for Women’s and Girls cricket, Ann Browne-John revealed that all the players who were on contract last year have been retained for the new contract period.

“The last contract period did not see many international matches as we only played five (5) T20I matches against England. Despite this, the contracted players were able to keep themselves fit and match ready. It was, therefore, the fairest decision to return all fifteen to contract,” she said.

“Additionally, it is really positive that three new development contracts have been awarded for the upcoming year. This will allow the requisite focus to be placed on these young players as they continue to progress their careers. There has been a lack of left-arm orthodox bowlers in the region, therefore Joseph and Schultz will hopefully help fill this void; with Joseph also bringing her left-hand batting skills which is also limited in the region. Hector is one of the bright young fast bowlers who has been bowling with great aggression in the past few training camps.”

CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams said the developing players, who were offered contracts, got them on merit.

 “I am delighted for all the players who have been awarded central contracts, especially those who are new to the contract list. We saw fit to expand the list of retained players by awarding additional development contracts to three young players who the selectors strongly recommended for inclusion.”

The West Indies Women are currently in Antigua for their second high-performance camp of the year under newly appointed Head Coach Courtney Walsh.

The outstanding allrounder reached the milestone on Wednesday in her 103rd innings during the second T20 International against England at the Incora County Ground in Derby.

She scored 28 and now has 3,020 runs at an average of 36 runs per innings. She is also the leading West Indies woman in One-Day Internationals with 4,724 runs at an average at over 44.

 CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams lauded Taylor for her brilliance over a career that started back in 2008 against Ireland in Dublin.

He said the 29-year-old has again etched her name in history’s pages and continues to be a role model and leader in West Indies cricket.

“Congratulations to Stafanie from all at CWI, and indeed the wider Caribbean, on achieving this outstanding milestone in what is truly a remarkable cricket career,” said Adams who was speaking on behalf of CWI.

“She has set the benchmark for women’s cricket and continues to demonstrate why she is rated as one of the greats of the game.

“She continues to be an ambassador for women’s sports and for the game of cricket in the West Indies. Given her youth and undoubted ability, we continue to wish her all the success possible in the years ahead.”

The Academy, which will run annually, will utilize the facilities at the Coolidge Cricket Ground – the new Home of West Indies Cricket - where the best young male and female cricketers will come to Antigua throughout the year for several High-Performance training and development camps.

 “For some time, CWI has been looking at ways of bridging that critical gap between our junior and professional levels and this Academy initiative provides us with a great start towards achieving this,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.

“The programme will also play an important role in building regional capacity within High-Performance player support – technical, physical, mental, and personal development. The programme will also set a template for our Territories to mirror as they build out their individual High-Performance pathway programmes.”

The first intake for the CWI Emerging Players Academy will start in July 2022 and run for a year. Up to 30 players will be selected from both the Men’s and Women’s talent pool, aged between 19 and 25. The aim is to bridge the gap after the West Indies Under-19 level and assist their progression into one of the six Territorial Board Franchise squads, with the intention that they will graduate to earn one of the fifteen (15) retainer contracts available in each team.

Players selected for the CWI Emerging Players Academy will be first expected to meet the CWI minimum fitness requirements before they will be exposed to high-quality training programmes and camps in Antigua.

The programme will focus on developing the players holistically and include specific aspects of the game away from the pitch such as media engagements, financial management, personal development, and leadership.

Players will also enjoy playing opportunities through the CPL Emerging Players partnership with CWI and the Emerging Players team that participated in the annual CG Insurance Super50 Cup.

Several recent members of the West Indies Rising Stars U19 programme are included. Two notable selectees are Teddy Bishop and Kevin Wickham, who both made centuries for the West Indies Rising Stars U19s during the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup played in the West Indies earlier this year.

Others who have graduated from the West Indies Rising Stars U19s team to the regional franchise teams include Keagen Simmons, Kirk McKenzie and former captain, Ackeem Auguste; along with left-arm spinners Ashmead Nedd and Joshua Bishop; and left-arm fast bowler Ramon Simmonds. Also selected to the Academy squad is allrounder Nyeem Young, who was in the West Indies Men’s white-ball training camp in April.

“We want to offer a special welcome to the young men who have been selected to form the first cohort for the CWI Emerging Players Programme. They are a talented group of players, who we are sure will enjoy the benefits of their hard work,” said CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.

“CWI has been looking at ways of bridging that critical gap between our junior and professional levels and this Academy initiative provides us with a great start towards achieving this. This will also play an important role in building regional capacity within High-Performance player support – technical, physical, mental, and personal development.”

The plan for a CWI Emerging Players Academy was first announced in March. It will function as a nexus between regional junior and senior teams while supporting the development of talented players between the ages of 19 and 25. The Academy will have five primary objectives:

Building capacity of players, support staff and high-performance resources.

Management of Talent.

Personal Development – develop the person first and then the player.

Demonstrate Best Practices, including recruitment, selection and preparation.

Accelerating Player Development and increasing readiness of players for international cricket.

The Selection Panel met and recommended the 15 players based on a formula which included consultations with each of the six Territorial Boards. Six reserves have also been selected as cover for players who may be selected for their franchises for regional competitions.

The first Emerging Players camp has several objectives and the main focus during the initial period will be to ensure the management of talent; players’ personal development – especially creating a breeding ground for leaders in the game; accelerating development – reinforcing the importance of knowledge on the physical components; as well as increasing the readiness of the players for the international stage – with a focus on specific skill sets identified by the Head Coach of the Senior Team.

 “This is a massive opportunity for myself and all the other players involved. I can't wait to get to Antigua to get started and get involved. Being a player who has come through the West Indies Rising Stars U19 system and being at the senior white ball camp a few months back, this is a chance to further my skills. This will benefit all of us as we look to the future and I believe the camp will also help to build camaraderie,” said an eager Nyeem Young.

FULL SQUAD: Kevlon Anderson, Keagan Simmons, Kirk McKenzie, Kevin Wickham, Ackeem Auguste, Ramon Simmonds, McKenny Clarke, Johann Layne, Kelvin Pitman, Ashmead Nedd, Joshua Bishop, Nyeem Young, Joshua James, Leonardo Julien.

Reserves: Anderson Amurdan, Kimani Melius, Kirstan Kallicharan, Brad Barnes, Shaaron Lewis, and Camarie Boyce.

The significant reduction in regional cricket in the last contracting period, due to the impact of COVID-19, has resulted in no changes being made to the list of umpires to be offered contracts.

CWI invests annually in the panel of umpires due to their fundamental role in ensuring that the spirit and integrity of cricket is preserved and that the highest possible quality fair play is upheld on the field.  Investing in a broader pool of umpires who can be rewarded for their hard work and application in developing their skills is vital for the health of cricket at all levels.

CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams said, “I am pleased that even in the midst of our financial constraints, CWI will be re-engaging our senior panel of umpires as we recognize and appreciate their important role within the game.  We all hope that there will be increasing amounts of cricket within the region in the months ahead to allow our best umpires to continue their ongoing development.”

The Senior Panel of Umpires being offered retainer contracts is as follows:

CWI’s Senior Panel of Umpires 2021/22: Zahid Bassarath,  Johnathan Blades,  Gregory Brathwaite,  Deighton Butler, Nigel Duguid, Patrick Gustard, Danesh Ramdhanie, Leslie Reifer,  Verdayne Smith, Christopher Taylor, Carl Tuckett, Jacqueline Williams and  Christopher Wright.

During the recent International Home Series between West Indies and Sri Lanka, for the first time, all match officials were of Caribbean origin, due to the ICC temporarily permitting the appointment of locally-based match officials from the Emirates Elite Panel of Match Officials and the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Officials. This was due to the logistics challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One very positive outcome was for Barbadian and West Indies Umpire, Gregory Brathwaite, to officiate in his first Test Match.

A total of 18 players have been offered contracts for the upcoming 2021-22 season which runs from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.

Meanwhile, Roston Chase, Shamarh Brooks and Shane Dowrich are among several who have lost their retainer contracts. Also losing their contracts were Sunil Ambris, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd and Oshane Thomas.

“Contracts offered for the 2021-22 period sees 18 players being retained, a decrease of four from last year. Jason Holder is the only player to retain his all-format contract due to his strong Test and T20I performances during the evaluation period,” CWI Lead Selector Roger Harper confirmed.

“There are several new players offered red-ball contracts earned by their strong performances during the last period. A number of players were not retained because they did not meet the minimum requirements.”

CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams was pleased for the players who were retained.

“I am happy for all the players who have been offered retainer contracts for the upcoming period. Especially pleasing was the number of players who were awarded first-time contracts in recognition of their performances during the period under review,” he said.

“I know that the 11 players who have lost their international retainers will be striving and fighting hard to get back into the teams and earn their central contracts back next year.  These players, along with our T20 specialists, will ensure that we have genuine competition for places that will push everyone to attain higher standards of performance.”

The evaluation period for the 2021-22 contracts covered performances and statistics from April 1, 2020, to April 1, 2021 (this was also supported by statistics from the previous 2019-2020 evaluation period). This allows for all players to be appraised immediately after the evaluation period and provides a notice period before new contracts on July 1, 2021.

Below are the players who have been awarded retainer contracts.

All-Format Contracts: Jason Holder.

Red Ball Contracts: Kraigg Brathwaite, Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner*, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva*, Shannon Gabriel, Kyle Mayers* and Kemar Roach.

White Ball Contracts: Kieron Pollard, Fabien Allen, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein*, Evin Lewis, Alzarri Joseph, Nicholas Pooran and Hayden Walsh Jr.

*Players offered contracts for the first time in 2021-2022

Players who are no longer receiving international retainer contracts are:

All Format Contracts: Roston Chase.

Red Ball Contracts: Shamarh Brooks and Shane Dowrich.

White Ball Contracts: Sunil Ambris, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd and Oshane Thomas.

 All players who are no longer on International retainer contracts are offered an A* grade Regional Franchise Contract for the following year.

The aim of the initiative is to provide accessible, ongoing personal development opportunities for local coaches to further prepare and inspire them to have a positive impact on the players within their communities.

Former West Indies Captain and current CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams will be involved in the delivery of all events, alongside CWI Coach Development Manager, Chris Brabazon and local Coach Developers Philip Service and Gibbs Williams.

The events will include several two-day practical coaching components of the CWI Competition Coaching Course (Level 1) which will be held at both the Trelawny multi-purpose stadium on the island’s north coast on 5 and 6 December and at the historic Sabina Park in the capital Kingston on 8 and 9 December.

“It has been a massive year for our CWI Coach Development programme with over 40 face-to-face and online courses and workshops delivered to over 730 coaches,” said Brabazon.

“To now be heading back to Jamaica to continue the work alongside such a high calibre line-up of presenters is very exciting and I am sure that the participants, the panel ourselves, and ultimately the local players will gain plenty from the interactions.”

Four CWI Coach Development Workshops will also be held each evening following the preceding accreditation courses. These free workshops are open to all previously accredited coaches and will cover both “Spin Bowling” and “Batting against Spin” on alternate nights. Former West Indies and Jamaica spin bowler, Nikita Miller and current CWI Academy Head Coach, Andre Coley will also be involved in the delivery of these events which will utilise some talented young spin bowlers and batters from each locale.

“The upcoming week is part of CWI’s strategic objective to raise coaching standards across the region through a rigorous coach education and development programme,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.

“On top of delivering the face-to-face component of the CWI Level 1 course, the specialist workshops will concentrate our efforts to address specific issues affecting our regional game.”

While the Windies have produced top-quality spinners in the shortest format of the game, with the likes of Devendra Bishoo and Sunil Narine.  The fact that neither has really made the transition to the red-ball format, means it is another area that continues to be lacking for the team.

 In fact, it could be argued that the last West Indies world-class spinner to dominate Test cricket was Lance Gibbs who represented the team in the 60s and 70s.  Gibbs claimed 309 Test wickets.  Creating another player of Gibbs caliber, for Test cricket, is not a simple process.

“It’s a combination of quite a few things.  The first thing is to keep making sure that we encourage spin bowling throughout the region, but also to ensure that the environment in which they are developing their skill is one that can develop world-class slow bowling,” Adams told the Mason and Guest radio program.

In the West Indies regional tournaments, it is spinners that have dominated the bowling in recent years.  For at least the last five years a spinner has taken the most wickets in the WICB Regional 4-day tournament. The honour has been achieved by Rahkeem Cornwall, with Veerasammy Permaul and Nikita Miller achieving it twice.

“Good cricket wickets play a big role in player development, not just spinners but obviously it does for spinners as well.  The Indian spinners in the 90s proved that if you didn’t have wickets that got outside your region, you would struggle whenever you went outside the region,” he added.

“Also, though, we have to improve the quality of batting against spin bowling because spin bowlers also develop their craft by bowling to good batsmen.  You don’t want a spinner to see high-quality batting for the first time when they leave the region.”

Otto played 48 first-class matches for the Leeward Islands between 1979 and 1990. During that period, he scored 2550 runs that included six centuries and 12 50s at an average of 34.00.

The right-handed batsman was the vice-captain of the West Indies ‘B’ that toured Zimbabwe in 1986. Former West Indies batsman Carlyle Best was the captain of that team that included Jimmy Adams and Carl Hooper who would both go on to become captains of the West Indies team, Phil Simmons, David Williams, Julian Charles, Javon Etienne and Vibert Greene among others.

 A cousin to West Indies fast-bowling great Sir Curtly Ambrose, Otto would go on to manage the Leeward Islands team. He also managed the Antigua and Barbuda team that participated in the Stanford 20/20 tournament in 2008.

“We had done a press conference very recently and we had explained that there were some players that had missed the minimum fitness standard for selection, two of those players have since met that standard, that’s Roston Chase and Shimron Hetmyer,” Adams said earlier today.

“They would now be available for selection for the next selection meeting around the Test matches coming up later in March.”

The players were among four that the West Indies selectors said were not named to the T20 and ODI squads to face Sri Lanka starting March 3 because they had failed fitness tests.

Hetmyer’s omission, especially, caused a bit of a stir regionally, considering that the news of his non-selection came against the backdrop of him scoring a century for the Guyana Jaguars in the semi-final of the CG Insurance Super50 semi-final against the Windward Islands Volcanoes last week Thursday.

During a press conference last Saturday, Adams, in response to questions regarding whether the selectors would consider overlooking Hetmyer’s fitness considering his current form, said that was not likely to happen.

 “The policy asks for a minimum standard in certain aspects of fitness testing.  So on the yo-yo intermittent test, that minimum standard is 40 and for a couple of years we have had selection tied to the achievement of that minimum standard,” Adams said.

“It’s pretty simple and all the players are aware of it.  Failure to get to 40 makes them unavailable for selection. So when the panel sits, the first thing that they will consider, before looking at the teams and the squads they want to put together, is who are the players that are available through achieving that minimum standard.”

Based on an agreement between CWI and the West Indies Player Association (WIPA), players must achieve a rating of 40 during the evaluative yoyo fitness test to be considered for selection. 

Adams comments come on the back of the recent non-selection of talented batsman Shimron Hetmyer for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.  The 24-year-old had looked in splendid form based on a scoring a majestic 112 in the semi-finals of the CG Insurance Super50 competition, which lifted Guyana to the final.  Hetmyer, however, clearly fell below the 40 percent stipulation.

“The policy asks for a minimum standard in certain aspects of the fitness testing.  So on the yoyo intermittent test, that minimum standard is 40 and for a couple of years we have had selection tied to the achievement of that minimum standard,” Adams told members of the media via an online press conference chat on Saturday.

“It’s pretty simple and all the players are aware of it.  Failure to get to 40 makes them unavailable for selection.  So when the panel sits, the first thing that they will consider,before looking at the teams and the squads they want to put together, is who are the players that are available through achieving that minimum standard,” he added.

The occasion was the second that Hetmyer missed out on making the minimum fitness standard, after failing a fitness ahead of a tour against Sri Lanka in February of last year.  The player last represented the team in the New Zealand series in November and was called up but opted out of the tour to Bangladesh earlier this month.  The test is conducted twice per year.

Brathwaite, who has previously led the team in seven Tests whilst deputizing for Holder, including the recent 2-0 Test Series win away to Bangladesh, becomes the 37th Test Captain of the West Indies.

Holder, the current No.1 all-rounder in the ICC Test rankings, captained the West Indies team in 37 Tests since taking over from Denesh Ramdin in 2015, leading the side to 11 wins, 5 draws and 21 defeats.

“On behalf of CWI, I would like to thank Jason for all he has given to the game in the region while serving as Captain of our Test team,” said Jimmy Adams, CWI Director of Cricket.

“Throughout his five-and-a-half-year tenure, he has led with dignity while always upholding the highest values of the sport. As the world’s leading Test all-rounder, we all believe that Jason still has a tremendous role to play in West Indies Test Cricket for many years to come.”

Meanwhile, Chief Selector Roger Harper said Brathwaite has proven he is worthy of the captaincy of the Test team.

“We all believe that Kraigg is the right man to lead our Test side at this point in time and I’m delighted that he has accepted the role,” Harper said.

“In the recent Test series against Bangladesh, Kraigg was able to motivate his players to play to a very high level and create the culture we are looking to establish where the team showed a collective determination to fight and a real hunger for success.”

Brathwaite said he was looking forward to leading the team going forward.

“It is a huge honour to be given the captaincy of the West Indies Test team,” he said.

“I feel extremely proud and humbled that the Board and Selectors have given me the opportunity and responsibility to lead the team.  The recent Test Series win in Bangladesh was a fantastic achievement and I’m really looking forward to the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka and I’m excited about what I believe this team can achieve in the future.”

The squad for the first Test against Sri Lanka will be announced tomorrow during the interval of the second CGI Insurance ODI at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS).