By Brandon Corlette
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has been busy of late as it relates to announcements. On Friday, it was announced that Daren Sammy would be the new white-ball Head Coach of the West Indies and Andre Coley would be the red-ball Head Coach.
Veteran cricket commentator Joseph “Reds” Perreira has thrown his support behind the appointment of Coley and Sammy, and is calling for the Caribbean people to provide support as well. In an invited comment, “Reds” spoke about the appointments. He described Coley as a strong candidate and Sammy as a motivator that can help improve the players’ desire to represent the maroon.
“We know Sammy had applied and that Coley had indicated he would apply and throw his hat in the ring. But not knowing what was the level of experience (of other coaches who had applied), it came down to six (coaches) we were told, and the review committee felt that Coley and Sammy were the best selection they could have made in the circumstances,” the Guyanese said.
“Coley is stronger in the area of his own qualifications. He dived into the coaching world, he got himself qualified, and he has done a fair amount of work in the Region. He was once the Windwards Coach, and that was where I got to know him better. He is easy to talk to and he is very detailed in planning.”
“He (Coley) got involved with Cricket West Indies Academy and he is no doubt one of the strongest candidates.”
Meanwhile, “Reds”, who now resides in St Lucia, was fortunate to be acquainted with Sammy from the early days.
“I got to know Sammy as a young man in St Lucia. He made the St Lucia Under-19 team, then the West Indies Under-19 team to New Zealand. I had saw him the day before he departed and told him about the conditions and I also watched him played his first International match.
“The fact that he has not gotten qualifications, which was well answered by Cricket West Indies President Dr Kishore Shallow, when you look back at the history and the amount of coaches that we had, who had outstanding qualifications and had good track records, they were not necessarily successful, so having qualifications does not automatically suggest success,” “Reds” said.
The veteran cricket commentator added: “Building a side, communicating with players. I think Sammy has a motivational style and he has a strong personality. He might be able to get into the hearts and minds of players, and that will help improve their desire to play for West Indies. And in the long-run, that would improve their consistency.”
Sammy brings two World Cups on his CV. According to “Reds”, Sammy has led as a captain and that must be taken into consideration that he was a successful captain and hopefully he becomes a successful coach.
Additionally, “Reds” strongly believes that the backroom staff should be key. He said: “They did not quite work well for the players under (Phil) Simmons. I do hope that both Coach Coley and Coach Sammy would choose a strong backroom staff. Batting, bowling and fielding coach. The key to fitness is someone like a Dennis Waight who was a no-nonsense man under Clive Lloyd [and] produced one of the fittest teams in the world. We cannot have half-measures who will be a friendly person and cannot get the best out of players and crack the whip when necessary.
“The support staff will play a major role in improving techniques and improving skills, and lifting the team. I hope they have a free hand and choose the best people who can do the job at an international level.”
Selection has been the talk of the Caribbean for a while now. “Reds” hope that the essential relationship between Coaches and selectors improve. “The relation between Coaches and selectors is very key and we hope to see an improvement in this area.”
“The time for action is soon. We want to move away as commentators and writers from too much talking, and allow the Coaches to do their work. Sammy has got UAE, the qualifiers and then white-ball matches against India. He must be selective in talking too much to the media. ”
“Coley has got a couple of Test matches against India. It is time to back off and not look over the Coaches’ shoulders and give them a chance to get into their work and hope they are selective in their statements,” “Reds” declared.
He was also surprised at the way in which the news about the coaches came out since reports out of Jamaica had suggested that the two Coaches would be Caribbean. “In future, major press conferences should be allowed tighter,” the veteran explained.