Richie Richardson praises Darren Sammy selection, disappointed with Chris Gayle non-signing
Former West Indian captain Richie Richardson has expressed his sadness over the decision by some West Indian cricketers to not sign the central contracts with the West Indies Cricket Board. However, he said that he hopes the West Indian team under the new
captain Darren Sammy does well.
Three of the best West Indian cricketers, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, refused to sign the contracts so that they could feature in domestic T20 tournaments around the world without having to worry about being hindered by international commitments.
Speaking to a cricket website, ESPNcricinfo, Richardson said that every cricketer’s main priority should always be playing for the country. Richardson added that things are different for those who are on the verge of retirement, but for those like Gayle, Bravo
and Pollard, "Playing for your country should always be No. 1, then anything else comes after that."
Richardson acknowledged that the trio said they will continue playing for the West Indies, but spoke about the perils of distractions. He said, “I know they've stated their full commitment to West Indies, but clearly there are distractions around the game these
days."
Speaking days before West Indies plays the first of the three Test matches against Sri Lanka away from home, Richardson acknowledged that it will be difficult for the side to win against the Lankans. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 and
has lost five and drawn one. Richardson did sound optimistic about the West Indian chances and said, "I'm always hopeful and I always want West Indies to do well. But it's going to be tough, there's no hiding from that,"
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Richardson-c85395 praised the selection of Sammy as the captain of the side as he exhibits the passion required to lead the team. But he did add that he was surprised that Ramnaresh Sarwan had been dropped from the team.
Richardson said, “I don't know what is going on with Sarwan but he's certainly got the time to get back into the side. He's one of our premier batsmen and I'm not quite sure why he isn't with the team or what the problem is.”
Sarwan was not afforded a central contract as the WICB called his fitness levels low. However, he did lead the Guyana team in the Champions League T20 and looked good enough to play in all the four games and top-score for his side.
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