CRICKET West Indies (CWI) Lead Selector Roger Harper is calling on the young talents in the region to step up and place greater pressure on the senior players for a spot in the team.
Harper was speaking Tuesday evening on the Barbadian radio programme, Mason and Guests, and felt young players have not made the most of their opportunities.
“Players have been given an opportunity coming out of CPL (Caribbean Premier League). Yes, we want to see young talent come forward, we want to see young talent perform at the international level and in every format, We want to see our young players really pushing the senior players very hard and really making a claim for a place in the team, really demanding a place in the team with their performance.”

Harper said he was disappointed in the series result against South African where they struggled to combat the spin and rotate the strike during overs 7-14, which “created their own downfall.”
To create the link in the middle overs, he said he expects young batsmen Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran to perform that role.
“Any good T20 side would need a player who can sort of link the power play at the start of the innings to the death overs from a batting perspective and still keep a decent scoring rate going, and we haven’t been able to do that and no player has put his hand up to do that job so far.”
The former West Indies coach felt that sometimes it is not the players who need to be changed but their approach to solving current issues.

“West Indies probably got carried away with the method they won the first match and (I) assumed they considered the same manner and did not respond to the adjustment South Africa made with the ball.” In the first Twenty20 International in Grenada, West Indies chased 161 in 15 overs with the power-hitting taking exhibition but beyond that they struggled in the middle overs, soaking numerous dot balls. Given West Indies had at their disposal all of the top players from a batting perspective in the series, Harper said it is about the manner in which they lost the series.
“Very disappointing because I thought that was a definitely a series we could have won and actually we were placed to win each of those matches, every single one, and I think to come away with 2-3 series loss was very disappointing because I think that team is capable of much better.”

However, he highlighted Obed McKoy (nine wickets), Dwayne Bravo (ten wickets), and Evin Lewis (178 runs) as bright sparks in the series.
“We put a squad of 18 players together with the intention of working out from this provisional squad, what our best squad would be going forward. So, we assembled, we thought, the best T20 players available at the time,” he added. The lead selector reiterated they picked a squad they thought had the best T20 players at the time and age was a consideration.

“Yes, we are locked into those 18 players for the time being but at the same time, youth does give you an extra advantage but it still has to do with skill and performance. So, youth is not necessarily an advantage unless that youth brings extra vigour, high level of performance and skill with it.”
The lead selector said he expects all the players will have an opportunity over the next ten T20Is, and he expects more with the bat from the senior guys.
Harper said he expects an even tougher test against Australia but expects it will be a very competitive series.
West Indies and Australia will play five T20I in St Lucia from Friday followed by three One-Day Internationals in Barbados.