FORMER Guyana national Youth cricketer Richard Jodah feels that there is an urgent need for selectors to better understand their responsibilities and roles. He declared that if selectors are more intimately involved in the sport then selecting better teams to represent Guyana will occur.

Jodah, who was regarded as one of Guyana’s very talented Youth player in his era, made this observation while speaking about the current performance of the Guyana National Under-17 cricket team in Tobago.
He noted that looking at the team’s make-up of which there are at least four very talented players who were overlooked for selection is cause for serious concern.
“That you have a number of very talented and skilful players who were not even called to trials is cause for serious concern as it tells you that you have a selection panel that has no knowledge of the ability and talent of the players. You can’t have selectors who only meet when it’s time to select a team and are not even present when they are competing to watch their performance,” he argued.
Jodah declared that in Guyana too many times selectors are appointed who do not see the various talent and optionsavailable when they are selecting national teams.
He opined that this method of operation has left many talented players in various sports dejected because they feel cheated. He said that the various boards must ensure that selectors fulfil their mandate, stressing that every selector should be at various matches and be present during trials thus having a more holistic knowledge of the players.
This, he said, will aid them in selecting better teams as the selectors would have seen the talent and ability of players across the length and breadth of Guyana.
“There are a number of very good players in far-flung and other communities who merit selection but because the selectors have never seen them they have been unable to be selected. This method of operation has the potential to destroy very promising careers and talent,” he said.
This, he noted, has and continues to result in a number of excellent and great players being denied opportunities to represent Guyana.
A case point of reference was made with regard to former national cricketer Neil Barry who, despite playing exceptionally well in domestic club competitions, was overlooked for the National Under-19 team but later went on to play not only for Guyana but the West Indies team.
“This is what we are seeing so many times as, while there are very talented and gifted players we are plagued with selectors who don’t know or have not seen the player but are randomly selecting,” he said.
The former Guyana player expressed the view that the Guyana Cricket Board should implement better systems thus ensuring that the best possible team is selected to represent Guyana.
He also noted that this is not restricted to cricket but several other sport disciplines. He issued a passionate appeal for selectors to better understand their responsibilities thus being able to fulfil their mandate in a more professional manner.
“We must be cognisant of the fact that our selectors play a pivotal and very critical role in this country and therefore they should understand that whenever they select a team they are selecting persons who will be tasked with the responsibility of making this country proud. We just can’t have selectors who hardly have seen players resulting in mediocrity playing a major part in team selection while the better players are left out or ignored,” he said.
He said that should this be addressed then the various sport disciplines can look forward to better team representation at the national level as players would certainly give a better account of themselves.
“When we reach a level where selectors are doing their job effectively and efficiently then I am confident that we will see improved performances in all the various sporting disciplines as I firmly believe that we have some of the best sports men and women in the region.
“As such, if selectors are able to properly understand their task and roles then Guyana will do better at a number of regional and international competitions,” he declared.a