Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer
( L - R ) Maurice Foster and Robert Samuels - FILE PHOTOS
FORMER JAMAICA captains Robert Samuels and Maurice Foster believe the Jamaica cricket team made the wrong decision to accept bad light when just four runs away from victory in their opening Carib Beer Series match against the Leeward Islands at Kensington Park on Monday.
"No other country would have taken that decision ... you have to believe in your players and in what the guys are doing ... I believe it was a coward move," Samuels, like Foster, a former West Indies player, said.
"I was surprised that was the decision taken," Samuels said. "The way the Leeward Islands looked, I believe they had given up all hope."
Samuels said with Odean Brown, 14, and Jerome Taylor, 12, having reduced the target from 29 runs to four, "I believe they would have got four more runs."
Even if Jamaica had lost, they would still have come away with four points, two less than what they got for first innings.
"You gave six points to save two points and to me that maths doesn't equate to a good decision," Samuels said.
Meanwhile, Foster said while he didn't agree with Leeward skipper Sylvester Joseph's comment that the move by Jamaica was not good for West Indies cricket, he believed the batsmen should have batted on.
"Having got that far and the momentum was with Jamaica, I certainly would not have come off for light," Foster said.
He said those four runs could mean a difference in points earned now and winning the title.
SURPRISED
"Certainly I was very surprised when they came off ... unless it was a serious injury where the batsman (Odean Brown) genuinely couldn't hold the bat, that is the only reason (to come off)," he said. Samuels, on the other hand, said: "I agree with Joseph ... it's not good for cricket, it's not good for West Indies cricket.
"It's (cricket) a spectator sport and we are there to entertain the spectators, to play good cricket, to play for our country ... I cannot say that was the best decision taken."
