World Cup Winners Looking for Separate Coaches in Different Formats
WI players celebrate a wicket against SA at Centurion (Twitter)
The West Indies cricket team, under Nicholas Pooran’s leadership, made a first-round exit from the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, owing to their shocking defeats against Scotland and Ireland. Skipper Pooran resigned from his captaincy role after the tournament, along with then coach Phil Simmons.
Team’s disastrous performance in the multi-nation event prompted Cricket West Indies (CWI) to launch an independent review. Following the review, the board has now decided to follow England’s coaching method of hiring separate red-ball and white-ball coaches for the men’s team.
CWI Director says split coaching necessary
CWI Director of Cricket and former player Jimmy Adams recently announced that the West Indies team will move forward with separate coaches for Tests and limited-overs matches. In an official statement released by Adams, he said:
“We believe it is now necessary to split the role and engage separate coaches for red and white ball formats. The increased frequency of back-to-back multi-format tours combined with the specific demands of the respective formats no longer provides enough time for one individual to adequately plan, prepare and review across bilateral series and franchise itineraries that are so condensed.”
He added that the Test coach of the side will also be looking after the West Indies A team. Meanwhile, the process to hunt for the two coaches is expected to begin shortly.
Apart from Adams, the review group also comprised Patrick Thompson Jr, Mickey Arthur as well as former captain and batting legend Brian Lara.
Andre Coley has been serving as West Indies’ interim head coach since Phil Simmons’ exit. The team recently suffered a Test whitewash at the hands of South Africa.
 "Aakash Saini")
