T&T and West Indies batsman Lendl Simmons is surprised that he has not been included in the West Indies team for the current one day international series against India in the Caribbean. Simmons who was one of the standout players for the regional side during the Twenty20 World Cup in England recently, was overlooked for the first two matches of the four-match series against India in Jamaica. West Indies captain Chris Gayle attempted to explain his omission last week by saying that the team for the India series was selected prior to the Twenty20 World Cup and after the Test and one day series against England.
Gayle said that Simmons was left out because his returns up until then, were not what they wanted. He hinted that the team was chosen for only the first two One Day games and Simmons could have a look in, later on in the series.
However, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) released the names of the players for the final two matches in St Lucia this weekend and Simmons was a notable absentee. Speaking to the Trinidad Guardian yesterday Simmons said: "I am surprised by the fact that I have not been selected to play in the current series against India. My form is pretty good at the moment and I would have liked to play against the Indians. "However, this is part of life and I am just going to take it in stride and work harder to get back on the team." Simmons left last evening for Barbados where he will line up against the visiting Bangladeshi team in a warm-up clash in Barbados from Friday.
Looking back at his performances in England Simmons said: "I struggled in the Test series against the English basically because of the conditions. I am a much better player now after the experience of playing Test cricket in England. "A number of our players struggled to come to terms with the conditions across there and I guess we will all learn from the experience. The conditions there did not really suit our batting but next time we are sure to give a better account of ourselves." Looking ahead to the upcoming Bangladesh series which includes two Test matches and three One Day internationals and a Twenty20 clash Simmons said he is hoping to get a look in.
"Towards the end of the England tour, I thought that my Twenty20 cricket had come together and I am looking forward to playing in the Twenty20 tournament in India with the Trinidad and Tobago cricket team later this year. "I am hoping to get a good score against Bangladesh in the warm-up game to force my way back into the West Indies Test side and hopefully things can get better from there on. I am working hard at my game and feeling good about my cricket presently."