Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Thursday announced the appointment of Andre Coley as the interim head coach of the West Indies men's team for their upcoming tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa. He will take over from Phil Simmons, who stepped down after the side's first-round exit from the Men's T20 World Cup in Australia.
Following a meeting of the CWI Board of Directors on Monday, CWI announced that Coley will oversee West Indies' two-Test tour of Zimbabwe from January 28 to February 16, as well as the multi-format tour of South Africa, comprising two Tests, three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals (T20Is) from February 21 to March 28.
Coley, a former Jamaica wicketkeeper/batter, is currently the head coach of the CWI Academy programme. He previously served as the assistant Academy head coach and interim Academy head coach when the Sagicor Academy was launched in 2010.
He was also head coach of the West Indies U19 team; assistant coach of the West Indies men's and women's teams, as well as Head Coach of Jamaica Scorpions and Windward Islands Volcanoes, who were the 2018 Super50 Cup Champions.
In 2016 he was assistant coach of the West Indies men's Team which won the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in India. Earlier this year he was assistant coach of Jamaica Tallawahs when they captured the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title.
CWI also confirmed that the contracts of assistant coaches Roddy Estwick and Monty Desai had ended. "To be asked to oversee the West Indies team on the upcoming tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa is a special honour.
West Indies cricket holds a special place in my heart. The upcoming assignment will be challenging as we will come up against two teams in their home conditions." "We will need to ensure that our planning and preparation are appropriate, and demonstrate consistency in the execution of these plans, to give ourselves the best opportunity to achieve positive results."
"The players, I'm sure, are enthusiastic about the opportunities that both series should offer and are eager to contribute to our team's success. I look forward to the tours ahead and the opportunity to make a tangible and meaningful contribution to the growth of West Indies cricket," said Coley in an official statement on his interim head coach role.
While Coley fulfils the interim role, CWI's High-Performance Manager Graeme West will oversee the West Indies Academy programme, supported by the Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams to ensure there are no disruptions to the Academy programme during the period.
"We welcome Andre back to the West Indies dressing room and with his wealth of knowledge of the game, player-management skills, dedication and hard work, as well as attention to detail, we know he is well equipped."
"He is a highly experienced coach who has functioned at every level within the CWI High-Performance Pathway. This has prepared him for the job at hand and we expect he will again approach this new role with the same vigour and zeal which have characterized his time in the CWI coaching system and has earned the respect of players and everyone who he has interacted with."
"I'd like to thank Roddy and Monty for their hard work and dedication in supporting the team over the last few years and wish them the very best in the future," elaborated Adams.