(Wisden)- West Indies begin their three-match Test series against Austraia on June 25. They have dropped Kavem Hodge and Alick Athanaze, two batters who played a major role in West Indies鈥 2023-25 World Test Championship campaign. Hodge, 32, played 11 Tests scoring 556 runs at 25, including a hundred in England. Athanaze, on the other hand, has featured in 13 Tests so far, averaging 25 without any centuries to show.
On being asked about their non-selection during a interview on QFM Dominica, Sammy explained how West Indies are basing their selections on data and analysis while also outlining how poor West Indies鈥 first-class system is.
鈥淚 had the analysts dive into the top three teams in the world and the different batting positions, what the best of the top three are doing in those different positions, the roles they are playing and then we compared them to ours and what we are doing,鈥 Sammy was quoted as saying by The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian.
鈥淒uring that last Test World Championship [cycle], Kavem I think scored 500 runs at an average of 25. As Dominicans we want our players to perform well, but we must not get emotional.鈥
鈥淚f you notice, these guys just played in the 鈥楢鈥 team series, so they鈥檝e not been discarded, just that at this moment, the direction that the team is going, the roles that we see from the data collected that is required to play, they just don鈥檛 fit that role at that moment. However, it is not the end of the road for them,鈥 Sammy said.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e doing Hodge and Alick a disservice by glorifying an average of 25 in Test cricket, thinking that myself and Miles [Bascombe, West Indies鈥 director of cricket] and Jamal [Smith, senior talent manager] have some personal vendetta against any player. 鈥淲e are trying to create an environment that breeds success, breeds excellence and we need to keep on challenging, and it shows where our cricket is right now, when players averaging below 35 seem undroppable in our system and that shows how poor our system is, for us to be really talking about a 25 average, that will not bring us success.鈥
Among the batters selected for the Australia Tests, only one player averages more than 40 in his first-class career, uncapped Kevlon Anderson, while only three players average more than 35 鈥 Anderson, former captain Kraigg Brathwaite, and wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach.