 We're going to talk some cricket now on the Sportsmax zone. Today we continue to assess the inexperienced West Indies squad named for the test leg of their all format tour of Australia in January and February 2024. The 15 man unit includes seven on cap players to be captain by Craig Bradford with Alzare Joseph named as the new vice captain. Let's have a quick look at the full squad. Craig Bradford captain, Joseph vice captain, Tatian Ryan Chanda-Paul, Kurt McKenzie, Alec Atheneys, Kevin Hodge, Justin Graves, Joshua De Silva, Akeem Jordan, Gouda Kishmote, Kimar Roach, Kevin Sinclair, Tevin Imlak, Shamar Joseph and Zachary Makasky. As we are lined on Wednesday, Jason Holder and Kyle Mears declined selection as they prioritized a T20 format while Jayden Seals is out injured. And at a press conference following our segment on Wednesday, lead selector Desmond Haynes revealed that Darren Bravo and Shea Hope were also contacted. He says Bravo told director of cricket Miles Baskham that he remains on a break while Hope says he wants more red ball practice. Let's turn to Joseph Reds' career for some analysis. Reds, let me offer my personal congratulations to your honorary doctor that you received from the University of Guyana. Mara and Ricardo I'm sure would have said that I was on vacation at the time. So well deserved, Reds. And congratulations. You concentrate on your life work and whatever happens, well, you humble, you grateful. Yeah. Well, the life work of some of our West Indies cricketers under the microscope at the moment, because some of them are unavailable for this series. And we have a squad going to Australia. That's very, very short on experience, Reds. How does the fact that seven on cap players are in this squad grab you? Well, Lance, if you look at what is maybe a new guard, there is no Oricon, Gabriel, Brooks, Wood, Chase, Bonner, Rifa, Karaya. And of course, we've had a situation with Holder and mayors making themselves unavailable. And that's virtually a team which I think the West Indies selectors have moved away from. And based on the performance of the West Indies A team in South Africa, and I had sent you an initial lineup which indicated that the selectors have virtually gone for those players from the team who had had two good A-tours before. So in a sense, you could say that despite the great Australian team they're facing, they have chosen this tour because of the players they have who are saying, yes, I like to go. They're investing here for the future. Yeah. A quick comment on Darren Bravo, Reds, because on the show yesterday we had suggested that it was shocking that he wasn't picked, but we were not aware at the time that he was approached. What are your thoughts on his declining the invitation to the squad? Well, I can well understand it. I think the whole issue was badly handled after not being picked in the series against England, because he was 34, and then you picked other people who were older than him. To all of a sudden now, looking to try and put together a squad with some experiences, not a lot. He got this call, I think, from might as basketball, and I'm not surprised that he said, I'm not available, I'm still having a break. I mean, psychologically, mentally, physically, cricket-wise, he probably wasn't ready at all, so I think that was badly handled. Yeah. Reds, you just alluded to the fact that some of the players getting an opportunity here showed potential in A-Team Tours, which is the platform for selectors to identify players with talent. But as we had said at the top of the show, they're going to Australia now with a job that a lot of more experienced players in the past have failed to pass those examinations. Is this then a series that the team will be looking to gather some experience and know-how and not so much focus on winning? We know winning is important, but is it that the selection panel feels that, okay, we may not be able to win this series, but let's see what these players have. Yes, I think that's a fair assessment, and I think maybe looking at the Tour to England, where they can use whatever happens in Australia, experience, good performances, confidence, players building a test career. And I'm told by one player, in fact, I can say I spoke to young Joseph from Guyana, and he said Sean Titt was very helpful to decide in South Africa, and he said Jimmy Adams also played a very good role. So I think the backroom staff, and there's a chance after I saw the president, President Shaluu, naming Brian Lara as a mentor, well, why not get Brian Lara up there so he can further us this, Jimmy Adams, about conditions in Australia, about the kind of pitches in Adelaide and Brisbane. You know, I think we need to spend the extra dollar and have the extra personality. Yeah, Reds, you know, I have so much to say on this issue. What I'm going to take you upon today, though, is the contradictory explanations that have been coming from the lead selector, Desmond Haynes, in relation to a number of these selections. First of all, great to hear that Darren Bravo was approached. Again, I completely agree with you, because I think that situation was handled so poorly from the get go that you cannot blame Darren Bravo for saying, well, no, that's fine. I'll sit this one out. Because the worst thing you want to do is to go to Australia, not being in the right frame of mind, and then if you perform poorly, that's going to be all on you. Mind you, it's a risk because he may never be given the opportunity again, but a risk he was clearly willing to take. Here is where I am, though, Reds. When the squad was released yesterday, part of what was said by Cricket West Indies and Desmond Haynes, the lead selector, it was pointed out clearly that Jason Holder and Carl Mayer's declined selection. They want to prioritize T20 international cricket. I want to deal with Carl Mayer specifically, because this is a man who in four test matches for the West Indies in 2023 is averaging just 20. I have a graphic Reds that I want to look at the top batsmen in test cricket for the West Indies in 2023. Now, mind you, it is absolutely nothing special. So I'm not suggesting that any of these players is the solution to the problems that we currently have in West Indies cricket. In terms of average, that list is led by Tej Narayan-Chandepole. In terms of run scored, it is led by Craig Brathwaite. On this list is German Blackwood in 11 innings, six test matches. He's averaging 26.9. German Blackwood in this hugely inexperienced squad is dropped, although he is the third best scorer for the West Indies in 2023. But Carl Mayer's, who averages a mere 20, whose highest score is 30 in the calendar year, was given a call, and he was the one who had to decline. German Blackwood's career average, test career average, is around where the men who are replacing him, Justin Graves, Kave March, Tevin Imlak, Zakhar Makasky, are averaging in their first-class careers, not their test average, no. They all went on a tour of South Africa A recently. All of these players averaged just 30 or below in that South Africa A tour. So explain to me now, Reds, given all that logic as to why German Blackwood would at least not get the opportunity to go to Australia. Say she hope has declined. Mayer's has declined, but Blackwood has experienced. He was your recent vice captain. He hasn't been terrible by West Indies standards this year. Why does he get dropped? Well, I didn't have, and I mean, want to be very honest with you, I didn't have Blackwood in my side. I never had mirrors in my side based on performance and some of the figures that you pointed out. But you are making a solid point and that with the shortness of experience, and that is why they tried to rope in Bravo at the end. You know, a close friend of mine who played for the Leeuws, he used standby for West Indies in 1983, Leeuws fast bowler. He said he is the one batsman who will attempt to try and attack the Australian bowlers. And when you look at the overall needs, there should have been some consideration for Blackwood. There was some early indicators that all was not happy with him. And hence Ricardo, there was no contract offered. Was that an indicator to you that he was a borderline pick? Listen, it might have been, you know, Reds, but the point I'm making is given all the prevailing circumstances when you sit to select that final squad. And here is what makes matters worse now, because I understand that at yesterday's press conference Desmond Ains was asked whether German Blackwood had been advised that he would be dropped. And the response to that was that he owes German Blackwood a call. If that is true, then it seems to me we're making the same mistake that we made with Darren Bravo, no with German Blackwood. Because in my opinion, once this decision is made as your former vice captain, you should be calling German Blackwood, you should be having a conversation with him, and he should be fully aware of what is about to happen before he hears it in the media or before the squad is released and he is seeing it for the first time. So if that call did not go to German Blackwood, it makes this situation even more disappointing. Ricardo, over the years, you can add many names. We aren't going to go into that in greater name detail. But one of the fundamental things, and I remember talking to Michael Fiddly when he was chairman, he says, as soon as it was necessary to make a call to any players who are part of the squad, you make sure you call that player and tell him as best as you could that he is not being selected. I think it's a fundamental responsibility of the chairman. I also want to say that the time that the side was announced to when the press conference was called was not a long time. I thought that that could have been delayed a little bit. I'm being very honest when I look at the practicality of doing what you're going to do as chairman of selectors. The other thing I would like to point out about the announcement, initially there was no mention about hope. There was a mention of a holder, there was a mention of mayors and there was no comment on hope and it's not until so on specifically asked whether hope was going to a white ball franchise, the chairman of selectors, who by then after maybe talking to hope, I would imagine, and there's not been unrealistic to think that I'm wrong, that he would have known that hope was heading to Bangladesh. As we heard today, playing for the Tigers and that starts on January 19th. I thought that he should have been a lot more open. He was in fact pressured into saying some more and he ended up by saying all I can say, hope is unavailable. Yeah, what was disappointing for me as well and I know you have spoken about this in the past and I must admit that it's not the regular occurrence on the part of cricket West Indies and their public relations and media team. I learned about the press conference at 5.43 Jamaica time and it was starting at 5.45 Jamaica time. I learned about it at 5.50 but the message came in at 5.43 and yeah, by the time I saw it the press conference would have already started. But anyway, let's leave all of that there. This is a topic and a squad that we will be chatting quite a lot about. Of course, they leave on the 30th of December. They will have a warm-up match from the 10th to the 13th of January and the first test against Australia begins on the 17th. Of course, it's West Indies cricket, so we wish the players all the very best because they have not selected themselves. So we really hope that they can go out there and give of their best. But yes, when you see things that don't necessarily add up, you have to ask the questions and that's what we're here doing this afternoon. Thanks again, Rez. I appreciate you dropping by and we'll chat soon. Just a point I'd like to make. Holder and hope not being available to West Indies cricket is a bit of a watershed in West Indies cricket. Let's leave it there, Rez. Let's go to our break. Lance is at the track next.