Asks Calvin Roberts
THE Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) junior selection panel, led by national coach Michael Franco-Hyles, last Sunday selected the 14-man squad to represent this country in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)-organised, TCL-sponsored Regional Under-19 tournament in St Lucia. With all due respect to Mr Franco-Hyles and his team who have had a trying time based on the performances of the batsmen in the recently concluded GCB/GTM Under-19 Inter-county tournament, there must have been an error in the squad with the selection of young Brian Sattaur over Quincy Ovid-Richardson.
When one looks at the returns of Ovid- Richardson compared to that of Sattaur, the former is head and shoulders above the latter apart from age.
Ovid-Richardson plies his trade as an opening batsman for the Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC) first division and Under-19 team and is one who is not afraid to take on any opposing bowling attack.
Apart from West Indies Under-19 opener Trevon Griffith, there is no other Youth opener around today who displays a no-nonsense attitude like Ovid-Richardson and many opposing fast bowlers can attest to that.
In the Demerara Under-19 team that contested the Inter-county tournament, only three batsmen recorded centuries in the yet-to-be-completed nationwide first division three-day tournament, and suffice it to say, Ovid-Richardson is among the three with Kwame Crosse and Shameer Fazal being the other two.
Surprisingly too, even Fazal who was short-listed amongst the 26, did not make the final 14, as the selectors opted for Sattaur ahead of him and Ovid-Richardson.
While it is not bad to look ahead to the future, Sattaur’s batting temperament is not suited to this level of cricket, or not yet.
In the GCB/CASTROL Under-15 tournament, Sattaur’s wicket was taken within the first 5 overs 75% of the time and if that is the case with his age group, what would happen in the higher and more intense Under-19 tournament where the bowlers are hungrier?
While nothing can be done with the team at this moment, as the list has been forwarded to the WICB, both Ovid-Richardson and Fazal will have to wait another year (if they are eligible), to represent Guyana in this tournament.