Howard Gets What Skerritt Didn't
Fri, Jun 25, '04
West Indies team manager Tony Howard will serve as a member of the selection panel on the current tour of England.
In what amounts to a major departure from the previous policy where the manager was not allowed to participate in "cricket matters," Howard will join head coach Gus Logie, captain Brian Lara and vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan on the team selection committee.
It is a major coup for Howard, who took over as team manager after Ricky Skerritt's sudden resignation.
In his letter of resignation, Skerritt had lamented the fact that he was held responsible for the team's performance when he had no involvement in cricket matters. Skerritt was so detached from the process that he would sometimes learn of the team's composition from members of the media.
In an exclusive interview with CaribbeanCricket.com's Michelle McDonald, Howard had pleaded for the manager to be empowered to make certain cricket-related decisions.
"The manager must have some teeth. If he doesn't have any teeth, personally, [I think] he's a waste of time," Howard said at the time.
Head coach Gus Logie had also begged off the team selection panel, claiming it interfered with the trust of the players but, under a new structure implemented for this tour, Logie will be the de-facto chairman of the committee.
Meanwhile, captain Lara has sidestepped queries on the controversial axing of Viv Richards as chairman of selection panel. According to a CMC report, Lara claimed he didn't know the extent of the furore in the Caribbean.
"He (Sir Viv) has made his contribution. I don't know exactly what's happening in the Caribbean in terms of the selectors. We have a job here to do with 15 one-day players and 16 Test players. Sir Vivian Richards, as a player, as a selector, has made a great contribution to West Indies cricket and I'm sure he will continue to do that in some sort of capacity," Lara said.
Asked if the Richards sacking was a distraction to his side, Lara said: "Actually, we don't know much about it, being far removed from the Caribbean."
"Of course, you can find out about it on the internet if you want to, but I think the guys don't seem to understand, or are not willing to understand what's happening in the Caribbean. We are playing cricket here and we know that a lot of careers are in the hands of the selectors and we have faith in whoever they (the West Indies Board) put there. Many selectors, Wes Hall and other great players, have been replaced in the past. So it really and truly has no effect on us."