Tony Howard named new manager

Tony Howard, 57, has been named as the man who will take over from Ricky Skerritt as the West Indies cricket team manager with immediate effect.

Skerrit resigned after West Indies' defeat at Port-of-Spain, saying at the time that he would see out his contract which expired at the end of June. But the West Indies Cricket Board decided that his successor should start immediately.

Howard, who played one Test for West Indies in 1971-72, has been manager of the Barbados side since 1998, during which time they have won four regional titles as well as the Red Stripe Bowl in 2002. Yesterday, they completed their victory over Jamaica to win the Carib Beer Cup final.

"I am well aware that this is not going to be an easy task," Howard said. "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."

The board said that Skerritt would continue to work for it on unspecified assignments until the end of his contract.