West Indies legend, Sir Viv Richards, has called for more accountability in the affairs of the regional team across the board, including the performances of coaches.
The West Indies men’s team, which is coached by former player, Phil Simmons, has been plagued by poor performances in recent months. At the ICC Twenty/20 Cricket World Cup the team, who entered the tournament as defending champions, were less than inspiring and crashed out after finishing 5th in Group 1 where they won just one match and lost four.
That performance was followed by lopsided defeats in Sri Lanka and Pakistan for the Test. On the other hand, the Women’s team, now coached by former fast bowler and captain, Courtney Walsh after a string of poor results two years ago, have won two of their last three series.
Sir Viv recently told the Good Morning Jojo radio program in Antigua and Barbuda: “We’ve got to start calling on the coaches a bit more in my opinion for performances, and to have a level at some point regarding performances, where you’d say that last year we were here at that level and where we want to be next year, so I am looking for stuff like that sort of improvement.
“I think I am looking for that sort of improvement, which I am not seeing at the moment.”
Sir Viv also believes that there is also the need for more transparency and equality as it relates to the selection of players based on fitness standards.
