Reifer - Don't write me off

Floyd Reifer stopped the press on Saturday night. He had a message for journalists and the cricket-loving public.

Reifer, the veteran left-hander has stated emphatically that he is not a "former West Indies" player, but that he is still around and will be banging on the door again. He believes he can regain selection for the West Indies team, especially for one-day internationals.

"I notice that when you always write you always say I'm a former West Indies player," Reifer told this reporter on Saturday night at the 3Ws Oval. "I have not retired from [international] cricket. I still have a lot of cricket left in me.

"I'm rejuvenated. I believe I am batting the best I have for a long time and I can make it back to the top again."

Reifer, the 35-year-old former Lodge School student was speaking after making an accomplished 78 not out from 83 balls to shepherd Sagicor University of the West Indies to victory against Carib Carlton in the final of the Sagicor Super Cup. It took UWI to 234 for 6 off 48.2 overs in reply to Carlton's 233 for six off their 50 overs.

"I know how it's played at that level and I know what would be required of me. I see a lot of players being selected and I would like to get a chance as well," he said.

During the recent KFC Cup in Guyana Reifer represented Combined Campuses and Colleges. In the opening match he made 130 - the tournament's highest score - as the students earned a tie against Trinidad and Tobago.

Reifer has represented Barbados for over 15 years, but switched to Combined Campuses and Colleges this year.

After a very successful Red Stripe Cup (four-day tournament) in 1997 where he scored 756 runs, Reifer was given a chance with his first one-day and Test matches against the Sri Lankans on their tour of the West Indies.

Between 1997 and 1999 he appeared in four Tests and two one-dayers with little success and has not been considered since.

Reifer believes his next chance to impress the West Indies selectors will come in the Carib Beer Series when the Combined Campuses and College make their debut early next year.

"I will be looking to score heavily and make a statement," he said. "In the KFC Cup I played one of my best innings and that told me how much I had left in me."