PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force coach and chairman of selectors have denied a host of allegations levelled by out-of-favour player Denesh Ramdin, even as the country’s cricket association says it is troubled by the public feud and will seek to resolve it.
Ramdin, who was dropped for the team for the next match of the Regional Four-Day Championships, claimed earlier this week that head coach Mervyn Dillon wanted him and other senior players out of the team; that team members were uncomfortable because they did not believe their places on the squad was secure; and that the selectors, led by Tony Gray, have disrespected and ignored the senior players.
Dillon and Gray, hitting back at the former Red Force captain, dismissed his claims, with Dillon suggesting that he was “hurt” at being omitted from the team heading to St Kitts next week for the first sixth round match against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes.
In an interview with Newsday, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) Azim Bassarath said he was concerned about the situation, and would seek to meet with the relevant parties.
“The team flies out on Monday so there would not be any opportunity to meet with the guys before the team flies out, but it is something that is worrying and definitely I think I should have a word with the three people that are involved,” he said Thursday.
Ramdin, in a telephone interview on the Mason and Guest radio in Barbados, had lashed out at Dillon and Gray after learning he would not be suiting up with the team in St Kitts.
The wicketkeeper-batsman scored a total 16 runs in three innings in two matches he played for Red Force this season. He scored those runs in the first innings, but got a pair of ducks in the other two in last weekend’s game against Barbados Pride, which Red Force lost by 299 runs. Ramdin was one of five people axed from the team, with Gray blaming his omission on poor form. The others were Yannic Cariah, Keagan Simmons, Kissoondath Magram and Daniel St Clair, and five were replaced by Anderson Phillip, Imran Khan, Isaiah Rajah, Cephas Cooper and West Indies spinner Khary Pierre.
Ramdin said he was “shocked and surprised” when Gray informed him he would not be in the squad for the next game. The former West Indies skipper further claimed that communication between the players and administrators was poor.
“They’re not respecting our senior players…they are doing their own thing basically,” he had claimed. “Our system is very strange. They will call you and let you know when you get dropped, but when you get selected you have to read it in the news. It’s very disrespectful.”
But, in an interview the Trinidad Express newspaper, Gray said he was specific in his communication with Ramdin about why he was not in the squad, and had also been in contact with the other four who were not chosen.
“I told him that the selectors think that you need some form and we would like you to play local cricket to regain the form,” Gray explained.
“I called all the players that weren’t selected, including the young players like Magram, Keagan Simmons, Cariah, Daniel St Clair and Denesh Ramdin by phone and I told them exactly what the selectors were thinking. I told Daniel St Clair that because Anderson Phillip was fit again he would be replaced.”
As for the contention that seam bowler Ravi Rampaul had been overlooked despite being available for the entire season, Gray said Ramdin was way off mark.
“I communicated with him [Rampaul] to find out his availability at the start of the season…What Ravi Rampaul was saying was that he would not be available for the first game because he hadn’t played any cricket. Ravi Rampaul has always been honest and straightforward. After that, Mervyn Dillon would have been communicating with him,” the selector said, adding that Rampaul also had an issue with his passport.
On the latter issue, Dillon explained that when contacted about his availability for the match against the Windward Islands Volcanoes, Rampaul said he had sent his passport away for his visa, so he would be unavailable for two weeks.
“After the Barbados game I called him again and he said to me he had some problems with his heel, he could hardly walk and that he was going to the doctor on Wednesday,” he was quoted as saying in the Trinidad Express.
Dillon said another senior, uncontracted player, Evin Lewis had “declined” to play for the team against Barbados Pride.
Dillon further denied wanting to see the backs of Ramdin and other senior players, and also rubbished the player’s claim that he “just wants a young group of guys that he can dictate (to) and use them to go forward”.
“The idea of me not wanting senior players around is laughable. I feel silly to have to comment on these things because it’s ridiculous. Denesh is obviously hurt. I don’t know what he’s thinking,” the coach said. Red Force are currently in fifth place in the six-team Four-Day Regional Championships with 46.6 points, and Gray has called for unity to improve not only the performance in this tournament, but cricket in the twin-island republic in general.
“Selectors are not infallible, we will make mistakes,” he said. “We are trying to improve Trinidad and Tobago’s cricket. If we are to improve Trinidad and Tobago’s cricket, then the attitude of everybody has to improve…which has to include administrators, selectors and players, because this is a concerted effort. It is not about a blame game.”
