CATEGORY:SPORTS(CRICKET) ---------------------------- INSIDE GRENADA FRIDAY June 22,2007 By Wallace J.A Grenada and Windward Island’s cricket captain, Rawle Lewis, is expected to captain the West Indies A team on a tour of Zimbabwe later on next month to play three unofficial tests and two One Day Internationals. According to information on CaribbeanCricket.com, Sylvester Joseph, who was originally named as captain last week, has declined the invitation to lead the side or take part in the tour. Daren Ganga was also offered the role on Thursday and also turned it down. The latest name in the frame is Rawl Lewis. Lewis, who has been in and out of the West Indies senior team, is one of the more experienced cricket captains in the region. Over the years, Lewis has distinguished himself as one of the top batsmen in regional cricket and he has been able to perform quite creditably for the West Indies with both the bat and ball; for some strange reason, however, he has never been retained on the senior team for any lengthy stint. Rawl Lewis is a very mature cricketer and carries with him a wealth of valuable experience. There is much public speculation that the WICB is finding it difficult to come up with a crop of decent enough players for the tour of Zimbabwe so as to not lose face and credibility. It is believed that many eligible players are not comfortable with the trip because of security concerns. The tour is expected to start sometime next week and to date the team has not been announced as yet. This could mean that if the tour proceeds, the squad will be extremely short of match practice. One of the top concerns on the minds of many West Indians is the present volatile political environment that exists in the African state ruled by Robert Mugabe since 1980. The Zimbabwe government is almost completely isolated from the international community as nations around the world criticize Mugabe’s administration for its mis-management of the Zimbabwe economy over the past 27 years and the use of military force to brutally silence opposition. It is alleged that elections are usually rigged and recently, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and some key opposition members were brutally beaten by people believed to be supporters of Mugabe. Zimbabwe now has the highest rate of inflation which exceeds 3,700 per cent. Eight successive years of recession have left four in five people without jobs and many struggle to feed their families. The United States ambassador to Zimbabwe today predicted that before the end of 2007, Zimbabwe’s rate of inflation could reach as high as 1.5 million percent. It is against this background that many people, including some cricketers, are very apprehensive about the tour. If the tour goes ahead, the West Indies A team will be leaving the region around June 30. Tony Deyal, Corporate Services Manager of the WICB says they will have to proceed unless the West Indies Players Association provides them with overwhelming reasons why they shouldn’t.