Fidel: No choice

PERSISTENT non-selection at regional level prompted Barbadian fast bowler Fidel Edwards to sign for English country Hampshire as a Kolpak player and disqualify himself from representing the West Indies.

The 34-year-old Edwards, who recently sustained a broken ankle that will rule him out of action for a few months, has also revealed that he and West Indies coach Ottis Gibson fell out during the 2012 ICC World Twenty20.

After that tournament, Edwards played only a few more matches for West Indies – his last Test game yielding him a six-wicket haul against Bangladesh at the end of 2012 – and only two matches for Barbados in regional first-class competitions.

When Hampshire presented the opportunity last year to sign as a Kolpak player – he is not considered an overseas player and does not qualify to represent West Indies, Edwards had no hesitation in taking up the offer.(HG)

Please read the full story in today’s Midweek Nation, or in the eNATION edition.