Chief selector stands by decision to hand debuts to Hetymer, Singh

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (CMC) – Chief selector Courtney Browne has stood by the decision to hand international debuts to the pair of Vishaul Singh and Shimron Hetmyer, despite both players failing miserably in the just-concluded three-Test series against Pakistan.
Neither player impressed, with Vishaul managing 63 runs from his six innings and Hetmyer gathering 96 from his six outings but Browne defended their selection, contending they had merited their place in the side with previous performances at various levels of West Indies cricket.

“There are no regrets. They came through our systems, they came through our A-teams, they came through the PCL. They played in the President’s XI, they got a score,” the former Barbados captain and West Indies wicketkeeper told Massy United Insurances Line & Length TV Show here.
“We understand they are young players and they need to be given that time to develop so there’s no regrets. When you are looking at the development process, it is going to be a slow process – you’re not going to find a sensation overnight.”
The left-handed duo were part of an already young West Indies batting line-up which never fired but for the exception of the enterprising Roston Chase whose 403 runs, at an average of 100, was the most for either team.

Batting leader Kraigg Brathwaite had a poor series with a mere 101 runs, the returning Kieran Powell got starts but never carried on and finished with 161 runs while the talented Shai Hope shone in the Barbados Test with an excellent 90 but managed only 59 runs in his other five innings.
Browne said it was not uncommon to see this level of inconsistency especially in a side comprising so many inexperienced players, but stressed that this was part of the development process.

“We understand and we know we have a lot of young developing players,” Browne explained.
“The unfortunate thing is these players are all bunched up together in terms of the number of Test matches. They are all new to Test cricket so that (inconsistency) is par for the course. When you have a bunch of young people that you are exposing to international cricket, you will tend to get these sort of [sporadic] performances.
“The good thing about it is you have a coaching team and you have to give them a chance to develop these players.”

West Indies conceded the three-Test series 2-1 as Pakistan won their first-ever series in the Caribbean since they began touring the region 59 years ago.
The series loss was also the sixth straight for the Windies and the regional side have now won just three Tests in their last 20 outings.
Browne said while results were important, the focus remained on developing young players at international level and believed this would pay dividends in the long run.
“We’re still some time off. I am sure we will have a lot of downs but we will also have some games which we will win,” he said.

“For us, we are really focused on development, getting that base so that we know we can develop players who are consistent and who can perform consistently at the international level.
“So now what we are looking at is creating that environment where both learning and teaching can take place.”