Sir Garry on Windies team

BRIDGETOWN: Sir Garry Sobers, widely regarded as cricket’s finest all-rounder, has been named technical consultant to the West Indies team and Australian Bennett King became the first foreigner to be named as the team’s head coach. Sobers’ appointment was announced by West Indies Cricket Board chief executive Roger Brathwaite late on Saturday night. “Working with the team in an official capacity for the first time will give me another opportunity to give back to West Indies cricket a part of what it has given me over the years,” Sobers said. “I hope that whatever contribution I make will assist in making this team a well-rounded championship unit.”

Sobers scored 8,032 runs at an average of 57.78, took 235 wickets and held 109 catches in 95 Tests between 1954 and 1974. He captained the West Indies from 1965 and 1972 and also played  for his native Barbados, Australian state South Australia and English county Nottinghamshire. Brathwaite explained that Sobers, 68, would work with specific individuals as identified by King for technical improvement. “He will also assist with coaching and tactical strategies in collaboration with the coach,” he said. King, head of the Australian Centre of Excellence, was confirmed as new head coach with a three-year contract. Tony Howard will remain as team manager, officials said.

The appointments were the first to be made within the revised structure of the West Indies team that was approved by the cricket board’s directors in Antigua earlier this month, Brathwaite said. Others would be announced shortly, he added. King, 39, played only to club level in his native Brisbane, Australia, but made his reputation as coach to the Queensland Bulls team that won three successive state championships in Australia between 1999 and 2002. “I’ve always said that the raw talent which the West Indies possesses is equal to any country in the world,” King said. “I feel confident that at the international level, the West Indies will be once again a force to be reckoned with in both forms of the game.”

King was initially appointed in March of 2003, but declined the appointment, stating that negotiations were incomplete. He replaces Gus Logie, a former West Indies player. In addition to coaching duties, King will be a member of the four-member selection panel with a casting vote and be responsible for the selection of the starting 11, Brathwaite said. Howard, 58, a former Barbados and West Indies offspin bowler, was appointed interim manager following the resignation of Ricky Skerritt in March. His contract places him on a full-time basis.