M Findlay: The mind of a (West Indies) selector (2 Aug 1998)

2 August 1998

The mind of a selector

By Michael Findlay

It is always a very difficult task to make a choice. I reflect for a moment on all the choices that we have had to make in our lives and think of the many questions that we have endeavoured to answer before eventually making our minds up about matters, large and small.

We wonder about the person we wish to spend the rest of our lives with, how many children, if any, we wish to have, how we go about nurturing those children, the type of home we should acquire, what careers we should pursue, the doctors we visit and the foods we eat. The thought processes that are required to make the important choices in our daily lives are similar in many ways to those which sports selectors adapt when choosing teams.

The primary responsibility of selectors is to pick what they consider to be the best team from the talent that is available. This is invariably easier said than done especially when it involves the selection of a West Indies cricket team.

In order to fully appreciate the nature of the job of a West Indies cricket selector, one must understand that West Indies cricket teams are selected on the basis of performances in cricket competitions involving players from the chain of islands in the English-speaking Caribbean stretching from Jamaica in the north to Guyana on the northern coast of South America; that cricket is the most lasting unifying force in that region; and that "West Indian" is also without doubt the only semblance of a nationality that is meaningful to the more than five and a half million nationals of all the territories involved.

Understandably, the geography and politics of the region have bred intense national pride among Caribbean peoples over the selection of their nationals on West Indies teams.

Regrettably, however, over the years, this nationalism has flourished to such an extent, that it has developed into feverishly emotional narrow-mindedness and biased insularity which at times have threatened the very foundations of West Indian nationhood and Caribbean unity forged by the achievements of West Indian cricketers around the world as well as by the success of West Indies cricket teams internationally.

The task of a West Indies cricket selector is therefore very taxing and those who accept the challenges which the position brings do so expecting little thanks and much criticism. They are, however, fortified in the knowledge that they carry out their duties honestly and fairly, and that above everything else, they are making a contribution to the development of the game which has brought them much honour and glory.

Teams are usually selected based on a set of principles and guidelines. Over the past two years, then Chairman of Selectors Wes Hall and his colleagues Joey Carew and Michael Findlay formulated a written policy with the mission "to select on the basis of merit, the best possible teams based on the ability, performance, discipline, attitude and commitment of the players who are eligible for selection, to achieve sustained excellence and to restore West Indies cricket to world supremacy.''

The Junior Selection Committee selects the Under-15 and Under-19 teams and any other teams which the WICB may ask them to select and includes Jeff Dujon and Clyde Butts. This committee will be chaired by a member of the Senior Committee.

Both committees are autonomous bodies and the WICB cannot give them any directives on the question of team selection unless such directives relate to players who to be disciplined.

Source :: The Trinidad Express (https://www.trinidad.net/express/)