Barbados: Holder still at the helm (11 February 1999)

11 February 1999

Barbados: Holder still at the helm

Roland Holder has been retained as Barbados captain even though Philo Wallace returns to the team for the Busta Cup cricket match against Jamaica at Kensington Oval starting tomorrow.

Holder has led Barbados to four consecutive victories and the authorities have apparently decided that he should remain in charge for the rest of the season.

Wallace, who has led Barbados in 1997 and 1998, missed the early part of this season because he was with the West Indies team in South Africa. The team returned to the region this week.

Barbados have a maximum 64 points and are sure to finish at the top of the preliminary round, which ends this weekend and which precedes the two semi-finals.

Wallace and tour colleague Floyd Reifer are back in the Barbados side, which shows three changes from the last match against Trinidad and Tobago.

Fast bowler Hattian Graham replaces Patterson Thompson, who has been dropped after playing in all of the previous matches. Uncapped Shawn Graham is missing from the 13 as well.

Ricky Hoyte and Dave Marshall are favourites to fill the positions of emergency fieldsmen.

Most of the West Indies cricketers who returned to the Caribbean this week are expected to play this weekend.

West Indies captain Brian Lara is poised to play under the leadership of Ian Bishop should he actually take the field when Trinidad and Tobago engage the Leeward Islands in the Busta Cup in Anguilla.

But his deputy, Carl Hooper, will be missing. He has been given permission to fly to Australia where his wife is reported to have given birth recently.

Also out will be Shivnarine Chanderpaul who has a shoulder injury.

The left-hander is likely to be out for at least 14 days, said Guyana Cricket Board president Chetram Singh.

Fast bowler Curtly Ambrose is being rested from the Leeward Islands team, according to a CANA report.

Lara will join team manager Clive Lloyd, coach Malcolm Marshall and West Indies Cricket Board officials in Antigua today for a critique of the disastrous trip to South Africa where the West Indies lost the Test series 5-0 and the One-Day International series 6-1.

Rangy Nanan, chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago selectors, explained that Bishop was selected captain of the team for the entire 1999 cricket season.

Under Bishop, Trinidad and Tobago have already qualified for the semifinals of the Busta Cup and are currently second in the standings with 36 points. They will welcome back Daren Ganga.

Although Hooper and Chanderpaul are out, Guyana will have Keith Semple, Neil McGarrell and Reon King for their match against Windward Islands at the Arnos Vale ground in St. Vincent. Junior Murray and Rawl Lewis are likely to be in the Windwards team.

Guyana are on 21 points, one more than the Windwards, and both teams will be seeking at least first innings points to advance to the semifinals.

Both will, however, be monitoring the performance of the Leeward Islands who are on 16 points and who will be strengthened by the inclusion of Ridley Jacobs and Keith Arthurton.

Barbados squad: Roland Holder (captain), Sherwin Campbell, Philo Wallace, Floyd Reifer, Ryan Hinds, Adrian Griffith, Courtney Browne, Winston Reid, Hattian Graham, Corey Collymore, Pedro Collins, Ricky Hoyte, Dave Marshall.

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)