Former youth captain top contender for WICB post

Former West Indies Under-19 captain Zoral Barthley has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Michael Hall as chief cricket operations officer at the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).

Barthley, an Antiguan opening batsman who led the Young West Indies in three “Tests” in 1985, was included in a shortlist alongside Barry Collymore, the Barbadian administrator who last served as spokesman for the Shell Academy in Grenada. Barthley was recommended for the job by the departing Hall but the WICB’s executive committee decided against identifying a replacement until the post was advertised across the region. One WICB director told CaribbeanCricket.com the board was wary of the backlash against the appointment of CEO Roger Brathwaite without that post being advertised. The full board had mandated that the CEO position be advertised but the EC overruled that decision and promoted Brathwaite instead, prompting criticisms from member territories.

The other candidate for the vacant post, Barry Collymore, was recently director of public affairs at the St George’s University in Grenada. He was interviewed for the CCOO job on Sunday and is considered a “strong contender,” according to one source. The CCOO post was left vacant when Michael Hall resigned in June to take up a job as general manager of Independence Park Limited (IPL), the body that manages Jamaica’s National Stadium complex. Before his departure, Hall strongly recommended Barthley for the job and also identified former CricInfo correspondent Derrick Nicholas to be Cricket Operations Officer (Regional). The Nicholas recommendation was accepted by the WICB. Nicholas is handling logistics like travel and itinerary for all local matters (home tours and regional tournaments).