West Indies mull two head coach structure
Published:Wednesday | December 14, 2022 | 1:47 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
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FOLLOWING THE West Indies 2-0 series sweep by the Australians in their recently concluded Test series Down Under, president of Cricket West Indies, Ricky Skerritt, revealed that he was buoyed by the fighting spirit he saw from the Kraigg Brathwaite...
FOLLOWING THE West Indies 2-0 series sweep by the Australians in their recently concluded Test series Down Under, president of Cricket West Indies, Ricky Skerritt, revealed that he was buoyed by the fighting spirit he saw from the Kraigg Brathwaite-led team in the warm-up fixtures and the first Test, but felt disappointed by the performance in the second and final match.
“I was aware of the fact that we hadn’t won a Test match in Australia for the past 25 years. So, I was hoping for a fighting performance, even if we lost. What I saw was a good fight, and an encouraging performance in the two warm-up games and the first Test match. I was disappointed with the fall-off in the performance in the second Test. However, there is no bigger Test match pressure than playing in Australia,” Skerritt stated.
The series, which marked the final chapter for Phil Simmons at the helm of the team, resulted in the West Indies suffering a 164-run defeat in the opening match, which was followed up by a mammoth 419-run loss in the final fixture.
According to Skerritt, the issue of appointing a new head coach will be dealt with in short order.
“The West Indies team is never coachless, the matter of the next head coach appointment will be addressed at the upcoming board meeting,” he said.
When quizzed on the matter of if the selection panel would consider splitting coaching duties, similarly to England with Matthew Motts (ODI and T20 coach) and Brendon McCullum (Test coach), the president coach said it was a consideration.
“The pending head coach recruitment situation is an opportunity to examine whether two head coaches are better than one. All options are still open at the moment as we have not yet advertised the position or positions,” he argued.
Among the ideas which the CWI could look into is the idea of hosting more day/night, Test matches in the Caribbean to get up to par with the International game.
The format, which first came to prominence back in 2015, has only been used once in the region, which was back in 2018 at Kensington Oval during a game between West Indies and Sri Lanka.
According to Skerritt, the group will sit, review and then make a decision as to whether this format of cricket is good for “cricket and commercial considerations” in the region.
“We have struggled against every type of ball in Australia for three decades. Unfamiliarity with the pink ball is the least of our concerns. However, the pink ball certainly gives a day/night option for Test cricket. It is a good time for us to review whether the use of the pink ball is good for both cricket and commercial considerations.”