'Need to look at eligibility' (7 May 1999)

7 May 1999

'Need to look at eligibility'

The Barbados Nation

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) needs to reassess its rules on players' eligibility which ruled out consideration of Barbadian allrounders Vasbert Drakes and Ottis Gibson for the World Cup.

This is the view of West Indies selector Joel Garner, who said the duo would have been worthy contenders for places on the 15-man squad for the May 14 to June 20 showpiece in England.

"In the circumstances we have chosen the best possible selections," he said. "There might have been one or two players whom we were thinking about but conditions and circumstances made them ineligible and they might have been assets to the team," said Garner.

"At the end of the day, we have to be realistic and acknowledge that the guys are going where they are being paid."

Drakes and Gibson both play professionally in South Africa and therefore are unavailable for the regional season which is played at the same time.

This made them ineligible for selection to the West Indies team.

Garner said the matter needed to be examined at length because it could seriously affect West Indies cricket.

The former West Indies fast bowler said, however, that he still believed the regional side possessed the artillery to win the World Cup.

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