SPORTS
Joel Bailey
FORMER TRINIDAD & TOBAGO and WEST INDIES manager Omar Khan has hailed the appointment of former Jamaica wicketkeeper Andre Coley as interim WI coach for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Coley’s appointment was announced by Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Thursday, and he takes over from Phil Simmons, who completed his second stint as WI coach after the Test side took the series 2-0 in hosts Australia in beginning of this month. Simmons announced his intention to step down as coach following WI’s failure to progress beyond the first round of the T20 World Cup (also in Australia) in October.
Coley is the head coach of the CWI Academy program and previously served as coach of the West Indies Under-19s, Jamaica Scorpions and Windward Islands Volcanoes at regional First Class level. He was assistant coach under Simmons when West Indies won the T20 World Cup in India in 2016 and was part of the Jamaica Tallawahs’ coaching staff when they won the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title in September.
In a CWI media release, Coley said: “To be asked to oversee the West Indies team in the upcoming tours to Zimbabwe and South Africa is a special honour. West Indies cricket holds a special place in my heart. The task the next one will be challenging as we will face two teams in their home conditions.
“We will need to ensure that our planning and preparation are adequate and demonstrate consistency in the implementation of these plans to give ourselves the best chance of achieving positive results.
“The players, I’m sure, are enthusiastic about the opportunities that both series have to offer and are eager to contribute to the success of our team. I look forward to the upcoming tournaments and the opportunity to make a tangible and meaningful contribution to the growth of West Indies Cricket.”
During an interview on Thursday, Khan commented: “I’ve known Andre Coley for a long time, since 2009 and 2010 when I was West Indies manager and we went to the Under-19 World Cup (in New Zealand ) with the WI team. . He was the coach and I worked closely with him in that tournament.
“He’s very meticulous, very organized,” Khan continued. “The key for him though is whether he would bring what is required now in the new cricket landscape, which is a scientific and technological approach and a more educational approach.
“(Also) if the players had an appreciation of what is required, to understand that to compete internationally now, you have to be students of the game, you have to study the opponents, have a plan (and) a goal and know how implement that plan. These are the main factors that will determine Andre’s role as a coach.”
Former Barbados batsman and WI captain Floyd Reifer served as interim coach for the 2019 ICC World Cup in England, following the sacking of Richard Pybus, before Simmons began his second spell as WI coach.
Asked if Coley’s appointment was, in large part, due to his work at the CWI Academy, with CWI directors keeping a close eye on him, Khan replied: “I think so. He’s been part of the set-up of the West Indies for a long time.
“He has coached the youth (WI) teams, he has coached the Jamaica team, he was part of the Jamaica Tallawahs team that won the CPL this year. Also, being at the Academy, he would have been in close consultation with (director of cricket) Jimmy Adams and the cricket operations people who would have set up development programs for West Indies cricket. All of those things may have weighed in his favor.”
Khan, the former manager of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, continued: “It is a temporary position. I wish them well and hope things go well for them. But we need to start now to put long-term systems in place to help develop our cricketers to compete internationally and have the level of success we want.”
The contracts of Monty Desai and Roddy Estwick as batting and bowling coaches were not renewed.
On who he thinks can fill those voids in the coaching staff, Khan pointed out, “I think we have Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who has been an outstanding (batsman) for the West Indies. I think Shiv should be a batting coach candidate. He has coached Jamaica Tallawahs and Guyana regional four-day team. We all know Shiv’s record as a batsman.
“Bowling, we have Sir Curtly Ambrose. Both of those will immediately come to mind in terms of potential candidates for those positions.”
