Walsh, 'Simmo' in World Cup squad? (6 April 1999)

6 April 1999

Walsh, 'Simmo' in World Cup squad?

Tony Cozier

Courtney Walsh's vast experience and success in county cricket is likely to influence the West Indies selectors to recall the veteran fast bowler when they finalise their 15 tonight for the forthcoming World Cup.

The 35-year-old Walsh has not played in the last 13 West Indies' one-day internationals since voluntarily withdrawing from the team after the second match against England. He commented them that it was "a young man's game".

But he has had 12 seasons with Gloucestershire, interrupted only by West Indies tours in 1988, 1991 and 1995, and was the leading bowler in the championship last season with 106 wiickets.

Allied to the fact that the Cup is being staged in May and June, when pitches usually favour seam bowling, they are statistics that are likely to be enough to override Walsh's accepted liabilities as a fielder and an authentic No.11 batsman. He was controversially omitted from the 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand because of his weak throwing.

Walsh's perennial partner Curtly Ambrose, now 34 and slowed in the field by the passing years, is a certain selection. They are the only West Indians to have taken over 200 wickets in one-day internationals and among the few whose economy rate is under four runs an over-Ambrose at 3.54 and 3.87.

In other areas, experience, fielding and throwing and all-round ability, all critical in the shorter form of the game, will be priorities likely to favour three other seasoned campaigners, Jimmy Adams, Keith Arthurton and Phil Simmons. All have played in previous World Cups, all are good in the field and all are specialist batsmen.

Like Walsh, Simmons has the recommendation of an impressive record with Leicestershire in county cricket.

In view of recent events, there are likely to be a couple of additions and several exclusions from the provisional 19 earlier required by the World Cup.

Although no genuine surprises can be anticipated, there was already one in the earlier 19, the Barbados fast bowler and hard-hitting lower order batsman, Hendy Bryan who is yet to play a one-day international.

If there are to be any new players, they could be the 21-year-old fast bowler Corey Collymore, who made his debut in the present fourth Test against Australia, or 20-year-old Ricardo Powell who has impressed with his attacking batting, off-spin bowling and brilliant fielding in his first full first-class season.

The possible 15: Brian Lara (captain), Jimmy Adams, Curtly Ambrose, Keith Arthurton, Hendy Bryan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Merv Dillon, Carl Hooper, Ridley Jacobs, Dave Joseph or Philo Wallace, Reon King, Nehemiah Perry, Phil Simmons, Courtney Walsh and Stuart Williams.

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