Wallace: Batsmen need to score more runs

Barbados selector Henderson Wallace said that his selection panel is hoping for more headaches when it came to selection of the Barbados Pride team for the West Indies Cricket Board’s Digicel SportsMax Professional Cricket League Regional 4-Day Tournament.

 

Speaking during a press conference at Kensington Oval yesterday to announce the 13 players for the first game in St. Kitts, Wallace said that they are disappointed in the runs scored at the trial matches as they were hoping more batsmen would have scored some runs and provided them with a harder task of whom to select.

 

Instead, the selectors who also include the captain Kevin Stoute, and the head coach Emmerson Trotman, were left expecting a bit more output from persons in the practice games.

 

Wallace said that selection is not restricted to the practice games, but also how the players performed for their clubs during the current season which is ongoing.

 

He mentioned that they went for players in the batting, who were experienced at the first class level as well.

 

The head coach Trotman said that he expects the players to have more awareness and the ability to bat for longer periods of time.

 

With Barbados Pride slated to have three rounds of matches before they have a week break, Wallace pointed out that the selection process is an ongoing one, as players are expected to be moving in and out of the team due to West Indies duties.

 

As a result, a selector will be travelling with the team to gauge how the players who are expected to filter in and the team as a whole are going.

 

This is not new to the Barbados selectors as they have faced this same problem over a number of years. Wallace mentioned that they are not worried about the cohesion of the team as it has always gone well in the past and they expect the same to hold true this time around.

 

He had high praise for Stoute who assumes the role of captain, while the others are away on West Indies duties. Wallace further pointed out that when it comes time to pass on the captaincy, Stoute has conducted himself admirably, which may be one of the reasons they have never had problems with the cohesion of the team as players filter back into the squad.

 

With a number of experienced players being called to trials, Wallace gave the assurance that everyone is in the plans for the Barbados squad, no matter the age.

 

He noted the only areas which are considered for selection include if they are fit, in good form and committed to the team, as age is but a number. (CG)