Silverware is high on the agenda of Barbados’ new chairman of cricket selectors.
Henderson Wallace says one of his first priorities will be to ensure the Barbados team performs to a high standard in the 2012-13 season.
In a press conference at Kensington Oval yesterday which was attended by new manager Hartley Reid and selectors Sherlon Greaves, Henderson Broomes and Henderson Springer, Wallace said winning would be one of his main goals.
“What we hope to achieve as a selection panel is obviously to work along with the West Indies Cricket Board and the rest of [the] coaching staff to bring a brand of cricket that will lead us towards success,” he said.
“We have had relative success in terms of our performance in tournaments, but silverware has not been forthcoming.”
Wallace suggested that for this to happen, players must be better prepared for competitions.
He said that in an effort to facilitate better preparations, a provisional 23-man squad had already been named for the Caribbean Twenty20 competition in January in Trinidad and Tobago.
“We are working with the director of coaching (Springer) to put a plan in place to prepare the teams a lot earlier than usual, and we actually hope to have a squad in training from as early as the first week in November,” said Wallace.
Maple’s all-rounder Khalid Springer has been recalled but there is no room for St Catherine’s captain Derick Bishop or TeleBarbados Carlton’s hard-hitting opener Martin Nurse.
Fast bowler Kemar Roach and national captain Kirk Edwards, who will travel with the West Indies team on their tour of Bangladesh next month, were not among the invitees, but no reason was given for their exclusion.
Details for the Sagicor General T20 competition were also released at an earlier media briefing. This year’s competition, which begins tomorrow, will feature two changes.
Instead of neutral venues being used at the quarter-final stage, the games will be played at the home grounds of the higher placed team in the preliminaries.
Also, instead of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) providing the match balls, any Grade A white ball will now be allowed.
The eventual champions will get $20 000 and the second placed team $10 000, while the losing semi-finalists will get $6 000 and the losing quarter-finalists, $3 000.
Provisional squad: Tino Best, Sulieman Benn, Ryan Hinds, Javon Searles, Shamarh Brooks, Shane Dowrich, Joel Leacock, Jamar Griffith, Kyle Mayers, Jonathan Carter, Ashley Nurse, Ramon Greaves, Rashidi Boucher, Renaldo Brathwaite, Marrodon Bend, Kirk Gibson, Khalid Springer, Alcindo Holder, Renaldo Parris, Fidel Edwards, Dwayne Smith, Carlos Brathwaite, Kyle Hope.
