Tony Howard is New W.I Manager
Barbadian businessman Tony Howard will take over from Ricky Skerritt as West Indies team manager with immediate effect.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) late Sunday announced it would reassign Skerritt until his resignation takes effect on June 30 and turn to Howard to take over on an interim basis. Howard, who has been manager of the Barbados cricket team since 1998, will assume the post for the current series against England and the upcoming Bangladesh rubber.
"While the WICB has accepted Skerritt?s resignation which takes effect from June 30, he will relinquish his responsibilities as team manager immediately and will work on specific assignments for the Board until the end of his contractual notice period," the board said.
After a meeting of the board's executive committee, WICB president Teddy Griffith said a committee chaired by vice president Val Banks will "review the management structure" of the senior team and submit a report by April 23.
Under Howard's management, the Barbados side has won four regional titles. During his tenur, the Barbados team has also won the Red Stripe Bowl in 2002 and has been as far as the semi-finals every year.
Howard, who played a solitary Test match for the West Indies against New Zealand in 1972, is Head of the Commercial Division of Courts (Barbados) Ltd. He holds a Diploma in Management from the Centre for Management Development, U.W.I, Cave Hill.
In a statement, Howard said: "I am well aware that this is not going to be an easy task but I am positive that with the cooperation and assistance of the players, other managers, and ancillary staff and with the full backing of the Board, this will be the beginning of a process that will see the turnaround in the fortunes of the West Indies team."
Skerritt quit the post on March 23, just moments after the second Test loss against England. In his resignation, Skerritt said he was "unable to instill in the entire team the fullest understanding of their obligations on and off the field to the people of the West Indies."
A few days later, West Indies captain Brian Lar criticised the timing of Skerritt's sudden resignation, suggesting it was an unnecessary distraction for the team.
"Without a doubt this situation is more than a little unfortunate because of its timing...Ricky, I must say that I wish this decision had come about before or after the Test series," Lara wrote in a column for the Trinidad Guardian newspaper.
Lara's very public upbraiding of Skerritt's decision-making was seen as an attempt by the captain to get a new manager in place immediately.