Hetmyer didn’t report to Jaguars

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):

The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) says Windies batsman Shimron Hetmyer did not feature for the Guyana Jaguars in their fourth round match in the Regional Four-Day Championship against the Jamaica Scorpions yesterday because he did not report to the franchise.

The 23-year-old left-hander was also dropped from the Windies side for the One-Day International (ODI) tour of Sri Lanka on fitness grounds.

GCB Secretary Anand Sanasie said Hetmyer had not followed established protocol for contracted players not on Windies duty.

“Players who are not on West Indies duties but are contracted to the West Indies are supposed to report to their franchise,” Sanasie told Guyanese online media outlet News Room.

“Since returning from West Indies duties he has not reported to the franchise for training … which automatically makes him unavailable.”

FITNESS TEST

Hetmyer and left-handed opener Evin Lewis were surprise omissions from the Windies squad this week, with chief selector Roger Harper explaining both players had “come up short in the fitness test,” a prerequisite for selection.

However, Harper said Hetmyer in particular “appeared to be getting his act together and was an integral part of the team’s batting group”.

It was then said that Hetmyer and Lewis would be retested in two weeks, with the hope of having them available again for international selection.

Jaguars travel to Grenada next week to take on Windward Islands Volcanoes, and Sanasie said Hetmyer’s involvement would be based on his availability.

“The franchise has been reliably informed through Cricket West Indies that Mr Hetmyer would be retested before the T20 team is picked,” Sanasie said.

“We wish him well. Once he has made himself available he would be selected to play for the franchise.”

Hetmyer played a single first-class match for Jaguars last season because of his various international commitments.