West Indies name Sammy as new white ball coach, Coley takes over test side

May 12, 2023 _ (Reuters) – West Indies have appointed former all-rounder and Twenty20 World Cup-winning captain Daren Sammy as their new coach for the white ball teams while Andre Coley will take over the test side, the country’s cricket board (CWI) said on Friday.

Sammy, 39, captained both red and white ball West Indies teams and led the Caribbean side to two T20 World Cup titles in 2012 and 2016.

“It will be a challenge but one that I’m ready for and excited about. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity, especially looking at the players we have and the impact that I believe I can have in the dressing room,” Sammy said.

“When I look around there is an abundance of talent. And what I saw in South Africa in the white ball matches under new captains Shai Hope and Rovman Powell and the leadership provided by Andre Coley, there is great belief that we can do well.”

Sammy, who has coached teams in the Pakistan Super League and the Caribbean Premier League, will first take charge of the West Indies in a three-match ODI series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Sharjah next month.

That series will effectively be a warm-up for their ODI World Cup qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe which will feature 10 teams. Only the top two teams will qualify for the World Cup in India which begins in October.

West Indies, who won the World Cup twice in the 1970s, did not seal automatic qualification for this year’s edition.

Coley, a former wicketkeeper for Jamaica, was interim head coach of the red ball side when West Indies toured Zimbabwe and South Africa earlier this year. He will also coach the West Indies A team.

“I am looking forward to the challenges ahead, as well as the opportunities as we sharpen our focus on moving up the test rankings, and qualifying for the World Test Championship final in June 2025,” Coley said.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in BengaluruEditing by Toby Davis and Clare Fallon)