Bennett King Turns Down WICB Offer

In another slap in the face for the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), the man they chose to be head coach of the senior West Indies team has turned down the offer.

Australian academy coach Bennett King has officially notified the WICB he would not be accepting the job and would instead remain an employee of the Australian Cricket Board (ACB).

King's about-face comes amidst controversy about the way his selection for the job was handled by the board. The Australian was upset the board announced the news before he had a chance to discuss a contract and made it clear there were issues to sort out with his family.

In an interview with CaribbeanCricket.com, he made it clear his hiring as West Indies coach was far from a done deal.

Sources say King's decision to pass up the job offer was communicated to shell-shocked executives at the WICB's Antigua headquarters on Monday. The board will announce, as soon as Tuesday, that assistant coach Gus Logie will land the job on a fulltime basis.

It is not clear if Logie will have an assistant.

King will remain head coach of the ACB's Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy.