GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Veteran cricket commentator, Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira, believes that Cricket West Indies (CWI) erred by sending a West Indies senior team to play minnows Nepal instead of a developmental team.
The regional side, led by Akeal Hosein, suffered a shocking 2-1 defeat against their lower-rated opponents in their recently concluded three-match T20I series in the United Arab Emirates last month.
The result was the first victory for Nepal against a Full Member in any format and sent shockwaves across the cricketing community.
During an interview on Isports on i95.5 FM on Friday, Perreira, who spent over 50 years as a commentator, said it would have been better served to send a young, inexperienced side instead of including some of the senior players.
Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira
“We had beaten Nepal the previous visit with an ‘A’ team led by [Roston] Chase. I didn’t see the need to put the West Indies’ good name on the line by picking the team that they chose.
“I would have gone, and I suggested it, with a development team. Some of the players they picked, the younger players with little experience, like [Amir] Jangoo, but I wouldn’t have gone for [Jason] Holder, I wouldn’t have gone for [Obed] McCoy, I wouldn’t have gone for [Kyle] Mayers. I would have gone for a development team, and we would have at least exposed several young men with a development team,” Perreira explained.
“I think they focused on trying to win the series. They were more interested in winning the series than in development, and I think they missed an opportunity. Before beating Afghanistan when they were developing, this was their first major victory as a young nation. We have done them a great deal of good, and they have done us a great deal of harm.”
Furthermore, he stated that the decision to schedule the Nepal series so close to the conclusion of the Caribbean Premier League put the West Indies at a disadvantage.
He said they had very little time to prepare after a long flight to Dubai and then had to play three matches in four days.
“Well, it was just rush, rush, rush. If we had, in fact, been able to agree with CPL to come one week earlier, we wouldn’t have been in the kind of rush that we were.
“There was no camp…we left here on the 23rd, and it was just too rushed. I don’t think they were mentally prepared. It’s a long journey to Nepal and their cricket has developed,” Perreira said.
“But why expose the good name of the West Indies to embarrassment? Maybe to get a victory to crow about.”
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