Should cricketers who have been neglecting Bermuda for years be given an opportunity to represent Bermuda or train with the national squad in preference to a player who has been around for the past few years training and playing regularly?

Should youngsters be freely given a chance to represent Bermuda instead of having to earn a place on the team?

These are the burning questions surrounding the Jason Anderson dispute.

This past week, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman came public to explain why he has not been training. To put it simple, a training squad of 26 players was selected and he was not included in it. To some, that may come across as unthinkable after some of the performances he displayed this summer, but it is a reality.

Previously, Jason played various roles under former national coach David Moore. He would sometimes open the batting, while other times come lower down the order. Jason has often been criticised about his strike rate (runs per 100 balls) at international level, as some say he bats too slow. Jason, unlike several other Bermuda batsmen, has scored a century at international level, along with a few half-centuries, thus showing he is more than capable of holding his own at the higher level.

Even if scoring slow has been one of his biggest flaws, can a good coach not help him to develop his game to the extent where he can score more freely?

I say yes because he proved it to me batting against St David’s in the Eastern Counties Cup. Jason and I worked tirelessly the two weeks before the first county game on how to score against spin bowling and he got there and scored freely against some of the best spinners on the Island. His batting display against St David’s was one of, if not, the best innings of the season.

The problem is that Jason is not your average cricketer — he is very unique. At Cleveland, we call him “Radio” because he is constantly talking, both on and off the field. Jason is a cricket lover and very passionate about playing for his country. You can often hear him talking about the game or tactics and he is always keen on giving his opinion on a topic.

I know first-hand from my experience this summer coaching at Cleveland that he keeps coaches on their toes because he is always questioning something. Some coaches cannot handle that, but to me he is a keen learner and I would prefer a player question a tactic rather than sit there idle, say absolutely nothing and then be unsure of what is expected.

What makes this situation so outrageous is that for years we have had several top players not attending training sessions or not making themselves available to play for Bermuda, but Jason has always been a regular to training. However, he is omitted and some of those who have not been available for years are selected in the training squad before him. That is scandalous!

How can one go from being a regular in the team to not even being selected in a training squad of 26? Is he suspended or is he serving a ban? No, but you would think so. This reeks of politics; the same old politics that has ruined our sport for years.

There is one burning question I would love to have answered: when the overseas players were home for the summer, how many sessions did they attend?

It has been noted that the Bermuda team have had fewer than eight players training on a regular basis and recently it has been as little as three. We dropped Jason Anderson for some players who have not played for Bermuda for years and yet they still don’t train sufficiently enough to be selected — yet again.

I can understand the national coach wanting to bring in young blood such as Christian Burgess and even Sinclair Smith, both wicketkeepers, because they are the future of Bermuda cricket. However, these guys should be made to earn their place in the team and not be gifted a spot.

Let me share with you one of my worst experiences in cricket. In the summer of 1993, I was the only cricketer in Bermuda to score more than 1,000 runs. That winter, we toured Jamaica in preparation for the ICC Trophy tournament, which was to be held early 1994. On December 29, Bermuda were playing Jamaica at Sabina Park, the Test ground.

However, when the team was called out the night before the game, I was left out. The team consisted of Wendell Smith, Allen Richardson, Albert Steede, Charlie Marshall, Noel Gibbons, Arnold Manders, Clevie Wade, Dean Minors, Anthony Edwards, Terry Burgess and Bruce Perinchief.

I was devastated. I can remember going back to my room and crying my eyes out all night. However, I used that experience to make me stronger. I shared that to show you how difficult it was to get into a Bermuda team at one stage.

Nowadays, we have players who have yet to establish themselves in the Premier Division walking into the national team. How does this happen? If you ask anybody around cricket, they will tell you that Jason’s game has developed this year and he is scoring more freely now than ever before. Jason is without a doubt the best wicketkeeper-batsman on the Island. St George’s even thought so because they selected him ahead of young Christian Burgess for Cup Match because of Jason’s tremendous form. Don’t get me wrong, Christian is definitely a talent for Bermuda, but he has to prove himself locally. International cricket is not a joke — many of our best batsmen over the years have failed at that level.

What really amazes me is that with training attendance so low, why would the selectors and coach not look around the league at players who have been doing well and invite them to training?

It will be interesting to see how this new-look Bermuda team do in Malaysia. It may not be our best team, but there is still a lot of talent in our team. Regardless, I am sure Jason, and many other Bermudians will be cheering Bermuda on because there is a lot at stake. Hopefully this is just a glitch and in the near future we will see Jason back representing Bermuda; where he belongs.

Quote of the week: I feel when somebody has been playing cricket for a long time, he creates a separate identity for himself.

— Sachin Tendulkar