Bennett King on Aussie Coaching Job
Bennett King has all but confirmed his interest in the Australian head coach job.In a wide-ranging chat with Caribbean cricket writers, the West Indies head coach said he's keeping his eye on the future, especially since an extension with the WICB is not a guarantee.
"With contracts with anybody, you've got to keep an eye to the future all the time. There is never a guarantee of getting a contract. You've got to have plans moving forward," King said.
The comments came in response to media reports that King is in the running to replace John Buchanan after the 2007 World Cup tournament.
Here are excerpts from King's chat with reporters, as published by the Nation News in Barbados:
On West Indies' chances at the World Cup:
"I'm very optimistic. I think what we've seen is a progression of our play in the one-day format. The one-day format at the moment suits us better. The concentration levels are shorter.
"With that in mind, we're optimistic. The one-day game is an interesting game. Anyone on their given day, if they have a good day, can win a game of cricket. If a side has a below-par game, they can lose. What we've got to make sure of is that we don't have a lot of bad games. Our bad games tend to be the ones when we don't score over 150. The better sides, their bad games are when they don't score over 250. We've got to work towards that.
On the West Indies' performance in Test cricket:
"I think our Test cricket is moving forward. With the [five-day] based game, the progressions are always going to be a little bit slower. With time, that side of our game will improve as well.
"At the moment, we're in an area where we're moving forward. We're taking games into five days consistently these days. The concentration levels are getting better, but there are still not where anybody wants them.
"Our realism is about making sure we keep looking at progress and not looking at possibilities. The public always seem to see the possibilities. They see people with talent. In reality, I've got to be very focused on where we are at the moment . . . the incremental steps that you need to move forward. The progress we make is about putting things in place that can carry on, and not just about things that are here and now.
On the simultaneous staging of the Carib Beer Series and the KFC Cup:
"The board has got to keep in mind a lot of different things, like trying to get through the amount of cricket that they need to get through. The competition, as it stands now, has been reduced from ten games to five. I'd prefer to see ten games, more cricket for the players. You've got to fit it in, somehow.
"I'm sure the cricket committee and other people would have sat down and thought about it. This was the best concept they felt would come through for a number of different reasons.
Finance plays a part in it as well. I'm not unhappy with the schedule.
On the pressure of the job and his response to the challenges:
"You listen to it all and you hear it all, but in the end, you've got to focus on the things that you believe in and focus on areas that need addressing.
"From December 2004, I've put together proposals for the academy and for regional cricket. It's taken two years for them to start coming to fruition, but at least the current board has sat down and tried to implement two of those areas that I felt were very important to progressing. From that perspective, I'm pleased. I'd like to know how they are going to go through the next phases – the phases of the academy and the regional competition – and how we make it stronger.
"Everyone recognises the problems. We've got to get up and do things about the problem. Everybody has got a responsibility there, not just the West Indies Cricket Board, but everyone in the regions [territories] – from governments down to the persons in the streets – recognise that we've put ourselves in the position we are in world cricket.
On the way forward:
"It's all about making regional cricket stronger and trying to get professional standards into their play, so when they come into international cricket they are better prepared. We keep cringing about the West Indies senior side and how they are not performing, even though they are performing a lot better.
"Improvement doesn't happen unless you make change. If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got. I came in and I thought I was not prepared to accept what's been happening in the past. We've got to try and change that. The board recognises that too. It's obvious that we're hamstrung in certain areas. We don't have the same sort of resources, financially and on the ground, as the other major cricket-playing nations.
On a replacement for strength and conditioning co-ordinator Bryce Cavanagh:
"We won't have a replacement for the Indian tour. We'll put that in the hands of the cricket committee and request that we look at that as urgently as we can. We need to sit down and seriously plan for the person who is going to replace him.
"My contract ends in 2007. You want to try and get someone who is going to give you some kind of continuity. It's in the pipeline. I'm not sure when it's going to be addressed. I believe it should be addressed pretty quickly."