‘Bravo, Pollard omission no victimisation’

Kingston (Jamaica), January 13

West Indies chief cricket selector Clive Lloyd has said the omission of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard from the World Cup squad is no act of victimisation for their roles in the abandoned tour of India.

Lloyd, the chairman of selectors, defended the decision not to select the two Trinidadian cricketers, insisting that it was not victimisation and that it was time to try something different. “It was not easy to leave out those two guys. It is a discussion that went on and on and in the end we thought that we have so many all-rounders. We were trying to see if we can introduce some new faces and as far as I am concerned, I think we have a good all-round One-day side.”

Lloyd’s comments follow similar sentiments from West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dave Cameron, who rejected claims that the two all-rounders were axed from the World Cup squad. “Let people understand that we have been at the bottom rung of the ladder for the last eight years or more with the same players, recycling people all the time,” Lloyd said.

St.Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, who brokered an agreement between the players, the WICB and players union, WIPA, in the wake of the abandoned tour, claims that the omission of Bravo and Pollard “reeks of village vengeance, discrimination and victimisation” and slammed the decision as “glaringly (lacking) cricketing merit”.

But according to Lloyd, the former West Indies captain, it is not a situation where these guys have been wiped away. “They have a chance at playing for the West Indies again. We have a new captain and hopefully he will get the support that is needed.” — IANS