by EZRA STUART

in Guyana

GRAB YOUR opportunities when they come your way!

That's the message chairman of the West Indies' selectors Clyde Butts has sent to cricketers in the Caribbean following the selection of the 15-man squad to tour Australia at the end of the month for three Tests.

According to Butts, the four players - fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Gavin Tonge, all-rounder Darren Sammy and batsman Travis Dowlin - who were late selections after the first-choice cricketers boycotted the Test series against Bangladesh, were chosen on the weight of their performances.

"I would say that when we brought back Gavin Tonge from England to play in the One-Day series against Bangladesh, we thought he did fairly well. And then, looking at the way he bowled in South Africa, I think he bowled pretty well, and anybody in the Caribbean would've seen that," Butts told the SATURDAY SUN.

Tonge, 26, had an impressive spell against Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy, taking a career-best four for 25 in his ten overs.

He has taken 75 wickets in 26 first-class matches at an average of 27.74.

"And to think that he would be competing with one or two other fast bowlers who have been out of the team, but he has actually played for the West Indies and he has performed.

"So when you looked at that, I think he got the edge over some of the other bowlers," the chairman said.

Butts also hinted that 32-year-old middle-order batsman Travis Dowlin, who hit a fine 95 in one of the two Tests against Bangladesh as well as an even unbeaten century in the One-Day series, was another selection based on performance.

Dowlin, who has only four centuries in 75 first-class matches at an average of 30.21, got the nod ahead of other contenders like the youthful Trinidad and Tobago pair of Lendl Simmons and Darren Bravo and the experienced Runako Morton.

"Again, it comes back to the same. You play somebody, they grabbed the opportunity; shouldn't you give them the chance to see if they are really worth it or not?" Butts asked.

"I think Dowlin did that; and not only Dowlin. In this squad, you've got people like Darren Sammy and so on, who did pretty well over the past couple of months for the West Indies and we have decided to give them that opportunity to continue."

The chairman said the general thinking among the selectors was to pick the best team while taking into consideration players who performed well in the recent home series against Bangladesh and in the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa.

"When we looked at what has happened over the past year or so, we think that that is our best possible team.

"Of course, there will be one or two little question marks in terms of players but you have to take into account that we are going to play Australia, which is going to be a tough tour," Butts said.

He also noted that now all the players had returned, they should give a good account on tour.

Butts, however, conceded that the team had an inexperienced bowling attack.