Board sorry about King’s confusion

SYDNEY: Australian Cricket Academy’s head coach Bennett King said yesterday that the West Indies Cricket Board had apologised to him for prematurely announcing that he would take charge of their national team.

King applied for the position last December and after an interview in early March, was on Tuesday told the job was his and the media had been informed. But no official appointment offer had been made and no terms and conditions had been agreed to by King. “I spoke to them this morning by phone about my disappointment regarding some of the processes and another couple of issues that are a little more personal and that may come to light later,” King said. “They apologised for the confusion and expressed regret for using the word ‘appointed’ in their announcement.”

King led Queensland to three consecutive domestic First-Class titles from the 1999-2000 season after succeeding John Buchanan when he took over the Australian team. King said the West Indies board want him to start the job in the Caribbean in the first week of July. “Any adventure is initially exciting, particularly with up and moving, but I know there will be a lot of trepidation down the track,” said King. “There’s a lot of angst, and nervousness bordering on fear.” Former West Indies player Gus Logie is serving as interim coach for this month’s home series against Australia.