Chief Operations Officer (COO) for the Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) Vernon Springer has lauded a decision by the Hurricanes Franchise to acquire two additional players out of Trinidad for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional Super50 competition starting later this month.
The Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Springer confirmed, have acquired all-rounder Kevon Cooper, along with his Queen’s Park Cricket Club teammate Akeal Hosein.
The duo joins fellow Trinidadian and Queen’s Park Cricket Club’s Daron Cruickshank and veteran West Indies and Jamaica batsman, Marlon Samuels, as four players joining the sub-regional squad for the tournament.
Leeward Islands had also named Guyanese fast bowler Ronsford Beaten in the line-up but he has been named in the Guyana Jaguars squad.
The move has drawn some public criticism with concerns that the spots should have been allocated to players within the Leeward Islands but Springer, during an interview on the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, disagreed.
“All of these players who are participating are eligible to play for the West Indies cricket team. So if Jojo is from Jamaica and he doesn’t get selected by the Jamaica squad and he wants to go to the Scorpions, the Hurricanes or to the Volcanoes and the opportunity arises for him there then that is what it is going to be; because the mission for these guys is to play cricket. If you don’t play in this tournament, you cannot get selected for the West Indies team,” he said.
