West Indies to have separate red-ball and white-ball coaches for men's team

Following the independent review after West Indies' first-round exit from the men's T20 World Cup last year, CWI has decided to go the England route and appoint separate red- and white-ball coaches for the senior men's team. The review, CWI director of cricket Jimmy Adams said, "included a closer look at the roles of the current head coach position".

"We believe it is now necessary to split the role and engage separate coaches for red and white ball formats," Adams said in a statement. "The increased frequency of back-to-back multi-format tours combined with the specific demands of the respective formats no longer provides enough time for one individual to adequately plan, prepare and review across bilateral series and franchise itineraries that are so condensed."

The recruitment process for both head coaches is expected to commence shortly, CWI said, adding that the red-ball coach would also be in charge of the West Indies 'A' team.

Adams explained that the decision to have two separate head coaches was made based on the recommendation by the review group - comprising Patrick Thompson Jr (chair), Brian Lara and Mickey Arthur - that it would help improve preparation for all the teams.

"Separating the roles will also provide the head coaches with more time to oversee players' ongoing development away from tours directly, and through increased engagement and planning with suitable high-performance programmes and coaches," Adams said.

Phil Simmons was the last full-time head coach of the West Indies men's team, and he announced his decision to resign after what he called was the team's "unfathomable" performance at the World Cup, though he stayed on to oversee West Indies' Test tour of Australia soon after.

In their opening match of the World Cup, West Indies were bowled out for just 118 chasing 161 against Scotland before managing to defend 153 for 7 against Zimbabwe, but Ireland easily overhauled their 146 for 5 to move into the next round.

Then in Australia, they lost both Test matches, and after beating Zimbabwe away 1-0 in a two-Test series, they have gone down 2-0 in South Africa. They haven't played white-ball internationals since the World Cup. Nicholas Pooran, their white-ball captain at the World Cup, has also since stepped down. Shai Hope and Rovman Powell have been named captains for ODIs and T20Is respectively, while Andre Coley has served as the interim head coach.