CWI announce Floyd Reifer as new West Indies head coach amid selection shake-up
The entire selection panel has also been replaced, with Robert Haynes replacing Courtney Browne as interim head of selectors. Floyd Reifer has been confirmed as interim head coach, a role he previously filled on West Indies’ tour to Bangladesh last year.
“We are confident that in Mr Haynes we have found an interim chairman who shares the philosophy of inclusiveness and shares our selection policy,” Skerritt said.
“We have no doubt Mr. Haynes will engage with players everywhere, strictly in the interest of what is best for West Indies cricket. [Reifer] has lived the same principles of West Indian excellence that we now insist much prevail in our cricket.”
Skerritt also indicated that West Indies’ selection policy would change fundamentally, with some players who had been “secretly but actively victimised” in the past once again being available for selection. “We have found it necessary to immediately adjust our selection policy to become more open, inclusive and player-centric,” he said.
He also suggested that West Indies would favour homegrown coaches going forward, with a policy that stipulates that four out of every five backroom staff members must be of West Indian origin.
“I have to tell you that we believe very strongly in localising the expertise that we put behind our teams and we believe only in bringing in non-Caribbean expertise only where it is not available across the region,” Skerritt said. “We want to be sure that the team does well at all times with the possible resources but we also have to make sure that they have a Caribbean support team around them.
“The changes we have triggered this week are more than a change in personnel or a shake-up in the ranks. This is a calculated strategic move designed to reignite the passion for a culture, where our cricket is being put back where it belongs - at the very centre.
“No decision will be made for political reasons or to fulfil insular means. West Indies cricket at its best has always been a representation of the hopes and aspirations of the Caribbean.”
Skerritt was elected president of Cricket West Indies in March, beating the incumbent Dave Cameron by a margin of 8-4.