BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Oct 22, CMC – Former West Indies cricketer Carlos Brathwaite has cautioned the West Indies about its handling of teenaged wrist spinner Vitel Lawes, saying they need to give him time to develop.
The 19-year-old Jamaican was one of the standout players at this year’s ICC Under-19 World Cup, with his performance leading to him being included in the West Indies senior squad for the recently concluded white-ball tour of India.
However, he endured a tough initiation on the subcontinent in the One Day International series, going wicketless in two matches while conceding 127 runs from his 15 overs.
Speaking recently on The Super Over podcast, Brathwaite, who played 44 ODIs, 41 T20Is and three Test matches for the Windies, said while he was happy to see Lawes get the experience, his development as a player was crucial at this time.
“A part of me is happy he’s getting the opportunities and that we’re backing a young player, but for me now the follow-up is how do we support that young player.
“The challenge I found that West Indies cricket has had is not necessarily finding talent – [because] finding talent has always been quite easy for us – I think the difficulty for West Indies is honing that talent,” Brathwaite insisted.
He maintained that West Indies head coach Daren Sammy and his staff needed to find ways to help Lawes improve, especially with fewer opportunities for young players to gain experience in first class cricket because of Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) financial difficulties.
“You look to three first class games this season and no Super 50, [so] where does a Vitel Lawes now go at a level below international cricket and learn his game? He would have had lots of things that he would have done well and be happy with, and there’ll be a lot more things that he probably was unhappy with coming out of India, things he can work on, but where does he work on those things?
“Does he work on those things in a random pitch somewhere in Jamaica where the pressure is off and the spotlights are off as well? Or do we throw him in at first class level, 50-over level, T20 level? What is the level between CPL and international cricket?” Brathwaite questioned.
“So, my challenge to the powers that be in West Indies cricket is to see what Vital Lawes has done well, see the challenges he’s had, and now give him an opportunity to be able to learn at the level below so he can have a quicker bounce back and not be like a Jewel Andrew a couple years later, flirting between the doldrums and — I don’t want to say failure — but not hitting the heights that we expected of him two years ago.”
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