'No other West Indian player finds himself in my situation'

Daren Ganga hasn't played international cricket since a torrid summer tour of England © Getty Images

For yet another time, Daren Ganga finds himself on the outside looking in as West Indies get ready for a one-day international assignment. Once more he is anticipating selection for the subsequent Test series but with little cricket by way of serious preparation for it.

Ganga is a frustrated man.

"It's not easy at all... As I've said before, it's a really tough one. No other West Indian player finds himself in my situation whereby I only play Test match cricket and not one-day cricket," Ganga told the Express. "What has really plagued me is that I haven't been able to build momentum and play a lot of competitive cricket prior to Test tours in the past and it's difficult getting myself prepared for a Test match without playing any quality competitive cricket."

Ganga, successful captain of the current Trinidad and Tobago team and their key batsman, may want to point to his last West Indies tour to England as a prime example of his plight.

A mere spectator for the duration of the seven-week World Cup in the Caribbean, he went to England as vice-captain for a series which immediately followed that tournament, found himself with the captaincy after the first Test following a tour-ending injury to the incumbent, Ramnaresh Sarwan, and averaged 15.00 in four Tests.

And while Ganga is keen to make his third trip to South Africa and make up for his wretched time in England, he will do so with mixed feelings. "South Africa would be no different if I'm selected," he said. "All I can do is prepare myself mentally and make use of the little cricket that is available in Trinidad at the moment."

On Sunday, Ganga will lead a T&T side against a Guyana XI in a 20/20 fixture as part of that country's Cheddi Jagan Memorial series of events. And, averaging 25.54 in 35 ODIs for West Indies, he still feels he's good enough to do a job. "The powers-that-be don't really think that I'm good enough to play one-day cricket. I beg to differ," Ganga said. "I'll continue to work hard and [hope] that at the next opportunity, I'll be able to produce my best."

While Ganga will be at home, at least for the Zimbabwe leg of the African tour, T&T coach David Williams will be on West Indies duty as assistant coach. It means the national team will be without the services of the coach who has taken them to five titles in four years for the build0up to the Carib Beer Series and Stanford 20/20 tournament, the entire 20/20 competition and the first two games of the four-day tournament.

"It would definitely be a big void, not having David Williams," Ganga said. "David has done a tremendous job for our team. His contribution to the Windies team will be invaluable." Ganga added that Williams' absence "allows a wonderful opportunity for a successor to prove his worth and continue the consistency and winning ways that T&T teams have adopted in the past couple seasons".

Asked what he thought Williams would bring to the regional outfit, Ganga was in no doubt. "His work ethic, his organised approach to training and preparation. He knows how to work with young players who are still finding their feet and learning about their game. And the whole question of his integrity and honesty and 'teamness' would have a positive aspect on a West Indian team."

As for the matter of the captaincy, which for the upcoming tour has gone to Chris Gayle, with Ganga's national teammate Dwayne Bravo being named vice-captain, Ganga kept most of his thoughts to himself. Asked if he thought his chances of leading the team had now passed, he said: "It's nothing that I really want to comment on. At the end of the day, it's very important for me to keep enjoying my game and remain very upbeat about my batting and playing for West Indies. I'm really happy to see other guys being entrusted with leadership responsibilities and will definitely be giving my support to both of them."