In a major move to the West Indies cricket fraternity, Cricket West Indies (CWI), the official governing body of the sport in the Caribbean Islands, has sacked the entire selection committee of the West Indies cricket team. Phil Simmons, the incumbent coach of the men’s team, will take over as the chairman of the yet-to-be finalized interim selection panel. He will be joined by the men’s teams captains Kieron Pollard and Kraigg Brathwaite.
The previous selection committee featured former Guyanese spinner, Roger Harper, as chairman and Miles Bascombe as his deputy. Both their contracts were due to terminate by the end of December, but CWI has decided against offering either of them a renewal. It is being speculated that West Indies’ recent 3-0 whitewash in the Pakistan T20Is prompted the people at the helm of affairs to take such a drastic call.
“The statement speaks for itself”- CWI chief
The recruitment will replace Lead Selector Roger Harper and fellow Selector Miles Bascombe, whose contracts will not be renewed when they come to an end on December 31,” CWI’s official media statement read. Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket, will oversee the process.
CWI chief Ricky Skerrit was terse in his remarks when asked about prompted the decision. In a statement to Cricbuzz, he said there’s nothing more to add, while not forgetting to mention that the statement speaks for itself.
Besides the 3-0 drubbing in Pakistan, West Indies’ overall form in international cricket this year hasn’t been anything to write home about. They failed to win test series against Sri Lanka and South Africa, the latter of which was played on their home soil. Their World T20 campaign featured just one win in five games, putting a disappointing end to any hopes they would have had on defending the title. Barring a sensational fourth-innings batting effort against Bangladesh early in the year, the team’s overall trajectory has been fairly low.
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Harper, the outgoing chief selector, was gracious of the time he got to spend at the helm of West Indies cricket affairs. “I would like to thank CWI for the opportunity to serve West Indies cricket in the role of the lead selector and I wish the organization the very best for the future. I would also like to thank all those whose efforts and cooperation helped me to perform my role efficiently. Special thanks to Miles for his professionalism and teamwork. God bless,” he told in his media briefing.
West Indies to play Ireland in a white-ball series next January
With a new-look backroom staff in place, West Indies will hope to return back to winning ways in the white-ball series they play against Ireland next month. The men-in-maroon will square off against the Irish contingent in a three-match ODI series starting from January 8. There will also be a T20I match, which is likely to be a farewell match for T20 legend Chris Gayle’s in international cricket.