Webster seeks greener pastures

Dr Webster, 66, expressed great disappointment with the lack of direction and leadership in West Indies cricket when delivering a frank address on the topic, “And Now What: 2008 And Beyond,” at the Thinking Sports Symposium yesterday at Cascadia in St Ann’s.

Dr Webster then dropped his bombshell during the question-and-answer session that followed his speech, when he was asked about whether he would consider working with the West Indies team again.

“This is confession time,” he remarked. “I think they are little bit too late because I have been approached by another Test team to take their team to a higher level or to the highest level.

“You can have your guesses. When the news is made public you will know who it is, but I am very happy that in the September of my years I am going to be given that sort of opportunity.

“My heart is still with the West Indies, but I think I am a professional and I think I am going to give that other job my very best efforts. I am very sorry about this.”

Dr Webster, the former director of the Shell Cricket Academy of the St George’s University, feels the WICB should be extremely careful about the way they choose their leaders because of the severe damage poor leadership has inflicted on the performance and well being of the organisation.

“The WICB ought now to place the selection of its leaders in the hands of competent professionals,” he said.

“Moreover, they should do thorough and detailed checks on the background and track records of the candidates. The WICB should now do an honest self-appraisal and carry out a structural and psychological overhaul.

“It should then insist that regional boards do the same thing since most weaknesses in West Indies cricket can be found at the doorsteps of the regional boards.”

The Barbados-born Dr Webster also indicated that he might have erred in recommending Bennett King to the post of West Indies head coach.

“You may not know this, but Bennett King came to the SCA, and spent 19 days there,” he said.

“When he first applied for the job, he sent his application and curriculum vitae for me to look over first, and then give it to the WICB and I gave it to the CEO Roger Brathwaite.

“I am not saying he should go, but I am saying that he should go if he does not get better results soon. Because I am seeing a side of him now that I did not recognise, and I think he saw the SCA as a stepping stone to a higher level, so he was really, really excellent.”

Dr Webster described King as an academic coach who felt some of the great West Indian and Australian players were “dinosaurs”.

“Dinosaurs!” he exclaimed. “I think that is the greatest insult from someone who has not had any achievement in international cricket at all, and just a few wins with Queensland.

“We have a fellow in Barbados called Hendy Springer and he’s got six or seven wins, and I think it is dreadful that someone like this can say such things about these great players when he himself has achieved nothing in international cricket.”