Antigua: The West Indies have sacked controversial coach Richard Pybus amid a flurry of changes announced, Thursday, only seven weeks before the start of the World Cup. Floyd Reifer has been named the interim head coach, with Robert Haynes replacing Courtney Browne as interim head of selectors, while the entire selection panel has also been changed.
“We are confident that in Mr Haynes we have found an interim chairman who shares the philosophy of inclusiveness and shares our selection policy,” Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Ricky Skerritt said Thursday. “(Reifer) has lived the same principles of West Indian excellence that we now insist must prevail in our cricket.”
The Windies had seen an upturn in fortunes on the pitch in recent months, with a shock 2-1 Test series win over England and 2-2 ODI series draw.
They open their World Cup campaign against Pakistan at Trent Bridge May 31 – the second day of the tournament in England and Wales.
The appointment of Englishman Pybus had been met with criticism, including from former captain Darren Sammy, who blamed him for causing the West Indies squad to strike on the 2016 India tour while the director of cricket.
“Moses led God’s children out of Egypt and the 40 days journey took them 40 years because of stubbornness. The 2019 World Cup will be 40 years since WI won,” Sammy had tweeted in January.
The change of coach could potentially pave the way for star players to return to the team, with the likes of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard playing almost exclusively franchise Twenty20 cricket, with Andre Russell also having not played an ODI since last July.
Skerritt replaced former CWI president Dave Cameron last month after beating him in an election.