Toppin turns his back on West Indies board

Roland Toppin: no reasons disclosed for his shock decision © WICB

A fortnight before he was due to take over as the chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board, Roland Toppin has announced that he is no longer available to assume the role.

Toppin was appointed on November 22 to fill a position that had been vacant since the resignation of Roger Brathwaite in April.

In a statement, Tony Deyal, corporate services manager of the WICB, said that Toppin "could no longer take up the appointment for personal reasons". He added that Toppin stressed he had been looking forward to the appointment and had been well advanced in his preparations to start on February 1.

"Considerations that were previously unforeseen have now forced him to withdraw," Deyal said.

The WICB has accepted his reasons for withdrawing and will review the matter at its next meeting in Barbados on February 12.